Bleach: A Breed Apart
by Azteka
Summary: Wha' 'ey do tah ya?/Why do you care? Ichigo asked as he closed his eye again, mentally happy that the pain had subsided enough that he could move./Th' glass wa' crackin' an' th' whole place felt like it wa' on fire… Aibou, wha' did ya ge' us intah?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Disclaimer: **

_**Bleach**_** is the trademark of Viz Media, and all of the **_**Bleach**_** characters are the creation of Tite Kubo, who has yet to will me Ichigo and the gang *pouts*. Also the title and basic premise of this piece was inspired by the NCIS fic, **_**A Breed Apart**_**, and from reading one too many related stories.**

_**-Azteka**_

_**~Prologue~**_

"**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-**" A high pitched squeal echoed in the hallway as students automatically gave the manic young man a wide birth as he ran down the hall toward a tawny-haired youth, "**-CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-**"

Out of reflex, the tawny-haired teen flexed his left arm out while stepping slightly to the side as the manic auburn-haired teen collided into the stretched out arm.

"**-GO!**"

"Hey." The tawny-haired youth casually greeted, giving no thought at all to the other teen laying helpless and twitching on the floor.

"Hi Ichigo!" Greeted a petite raven-haired teen, which was answered by a mumbled 'Hey, Mizuiro' as the tawny-haired young man continued onto class.

Kurosaki Ichigo, by casual glance, looked hardly like your average high school student. He was tall and had a light tanned complexion. And of recent, the young man had developed nicely into a lean and lithe physique, which unconsciously showed that the teen had physical prowess. A prowess that the young man, more often than not, had to use against school bullies and local street thugs due to his unique hair… The tawny colored hair at first glance looked orange as if the young man had a bad bleach-job done to his hair. However, at a closer inspection, one would be amazed that the unique tawny color was natural. Especially when the sun shined upon the short tresses to reveal a myriad colors of reds, browns and golds… It was as if he had all the colors of autumn combined to create his unique hair. And it was not just his hair that was unique in color, but his eyes as well… The ocher-colored orbs instinctively scanned the classroom for his three friends.

To those who did not know Ichigo, those reddish-brown orbs were hard, unforgiving and constantly angry, but in reality, the warm-hued colored gems were just watchful. They were the eyes of a protector. They watched out for friends and family. They sought for any signs of a threat to those that the young man held dear. And they did something else that none really was aware of… The reddish-hues within the brown would lighten or darken depending on the teen's mood, making his eyes either appear crimson or golden.

To the casual observer, Ichigo hardly looked like your average high school student…

"**HOLLOW! HOLLOW!**" Shrieked a horrified sound from a tiny little badge that had looked as if it had seen better days…

And that casual observer would be correct; however, for not the reasons they would believe, for you see, Kurosaki Ichigo was a Shinigami, a Soul Reaper, a Death God…

_**#15#**_

"Ugh… damn freaking Hollows…" Ichigo grumbled as he leaned against the chain-link fence that surrounded his school's rooftop.

"It is your own fault." Commented a quiet voice to Ichigo's right.

The tawny-haired teen rolled his head to the side and glared at the European descendent.

"And how the hell is it my fault?"

"Your reiatsu is leaking out." The teen's comrade stated bluntly, "It's like a big neon sign saying: _Here I am. Come and eat me._"

Ichigo felt his brow twitch in annoyance… Annoyance mostly because his companion was absolutely right; however, it did not mean that his comrade had to be so smug about it.

"Shuddup, Uryu." Ichigo grumbled once more as he laid his head back and bathed in the sun's afternoon glow.

Ishida Uryu just snorted as he pushed his rectangular-shaped glasses higher up on his nose, which only caused them to slide back down to their original position. Uryu was not by any means a 'friend' of Ichigo's, or so he had claimed numerous of times in the past. The raven-haired teen had even begun his companionship with the tawny-haired Shinigami through a challenge… A challenge to see who was superior… The Shinigami or the Quincy, Ichigo or Uryu…

Uryu was a Quincy, an ancient sect of people who had the ability to summon and command reishi, the natural spiritual particles that surrounded all living beings and things. The Quincy mastered this unique ability in order to help protect themselves and other humans from monsters called the Hollows. In the beginning of their existence, the Quincy and the Shinigami had a tentative alliance; however, when it became apparent that the Quincy ability of destroying Hollows was threatening the balance of the afterlife, a feud broke out between the Shinigami and the Quincy. A feud which decimated the Quincy people, however…

This feud was not what fueled Uryu's distrust and disdain for the Shinigami. It was the fact that the Shinigami was responsible for the death of his beloved sensei and grandfather…

Uryu bowed his head, hiding his expression behind the thick tresses of raven-black hair. His hair was so black that in the sunlight, highlights of blue could be seen. The teen clenched his jaw tightly as he remembered painfully who was responsible for his Opa's death, and how he had failed at killing the monster…

"**OW!**" Uryu suddenly yelped as he felt a painful kick to his knee.

Oceanic blue orbs glowed with righteous indignation at Ichigo, who only had one eye open, revealing a soft chocolate-hued orb.

"Stop it." Ichigo simply commanded.

A slight rouge tinted the raven-haired teen's lighter European complexion as he looked away.

"I don't know what you're yapping about." Uryu lied.

They both knew it but neither commented on it. After all, it was an understanding between them… An understanding that was the real basis of their friendship, no matter how much they both deny it.

A comfortable silence fell over them as Ichigo returned to his nap, and Uryu returned to his sewing kit, mentally making a note that he was out of his favorite shade of blue… Quincy blue as their mutual friend had dubbed it.

"**IIIII-**" The silence was suddenly broken by an annoyingly familiar screech, "**-CHIIIII-**"

Instinctively Ichigo lifted a leg up.

"**-GO-OPF!**"

"Your friend never learns." Uryu mumbled as he eyed the twitching auburn-haired teen.

"_My _friend?" Ichigo questioned, "Don't you mean _our _friend?"

"I never associate myself with the likes of him." Uryu stated as a matter of fact.

"Here you go." A sudden quiet baritone voice rumbled over Ichigo and Uryu.

The massive shadow from the quiet giant of a friend had blocked out the warm sunshine, causing the would-be-arguing comrades to look up. Standing in front of them and over them was Yasutora 'Chad' Sado. The quiet Mexican-Japanese teen held out two bags, each containing a bread pastry and a bottle of tea. Earlier Ichigo and Uryu each had given Chad some money in order for their giant friend could buy lunch at the cafeteria.

"Thanks." The two teens mumbled as they accepted their lunch.

Ocher gems quickly scanned over the group of friends for any signs of injury. Chad remained standing, knowing what his smaller friend was doing. It did not bother the towering youth that the smaller Shinigami felt the need to do such a thing. In fact, it made the bronze-tanned teen feel welcomed. When Chad's abuelo had passed away and the young man had moved back to Japan to live with his father's relatives, Chad had always been viewed as an outsider… His dark skin and massive size always drew the attention of others onto him, and never in a positive way. His thick and wavy dark brown hair with its natural red highlights hid Chad's cocoa-brown eyes as he too observed his friend for injuries. The gentle giant was pleased to see that Ichigo was without injury, but a slight twitch of his thick lips downward was the only sign he gave of his displeasure at seeing the faint shadows around the tawny-haired teen's eyes.

The gold coin-medallion around Chad's neck warmed up in reflection of Chad's displeasure.

The ancient gold coin was their pledge to protect one another. While Chad promised his abuelo to never raise his fists in anger, Ichigo had promised to be the Mexican youth from the Sacred Heart grotto's fist as long as Chad had promised to protect the lithe teen's back. It was a promise and a pledge that Chad took to heart, and yet at that moment he felt helpless that he could not help his friend.

"I'm alright." Ichigo quietly stated as he scanned the rest of their friends.

Keigo, the manic auburn-haired teen, was back on his feet, rambling about this or that. Ichigo did not really care, but was relieved that the brat was all right. The tawny-haired teen would forget from time-to-time to check his strength. Mizuiro, a raven-haired teen, was busy texting to one of his many girlfriends while he occasionally nodded and gave verbal cues that he was listening to the hyper Keigo, but in reality, he was not.

They were safe and free from the knowledge of things going bump in the night, and Ichigo preferred it that way.

"**ORIHIME!**" A feminine shrill cried out as the named chestnut-brown haired girl was manhandled from behind before the shrilling offender received a vicious kick to the chin by the school's residential tomboy.

Chizuru, the shrilling offender, just laid on the ground, bemoaning her fate at being denied her love by the beautiful and yet vicious Tatsuki, which set Tatsuki off into another fit while blushing a bright shade of red. Ichigo just watched as Tatsuki continued to beat Chizuru. The tawny-haired teen knew that his childhood friend was not really beating the overly flirtatious girl in anger. It was that the raven-haired tomboy did not know how to handle compliments. After all, she was the only girl out of a family of seven brothers.

As Tatsuki and Chizuru continued their usually row, Orihime tried to stop her defending dragon from causing too much damage.

Inoue Orihime was an odd girl. Her long tresses of chestnut-brown were held back by a pair of flower-hairclips, which her brother had given her and held an awesome power. Her stormy-grey eyes reflected only her honest emotions. She was incapable of lying, and despite her busty physique and airhead tendency, the chestnut-brown haired orphaned was quite smart and wise. She had a presence about her that made the three warrior-males very protective of her. She was the Healer of their mix-matched group, while Chad was the Shield, Uryu was the Brains and Ichigo himself was the Sword.

…_must be really tried if ya thinkin' like tha'…_ A voice cooed in Ichigo's mind, causing the young Shinigami to choke on his tea.

"Kurosaki-san!" Orihime suddenly cried once she heard her friend coughing.

"I'm fine…" Ichigo dismissed as his coughing fit subsided, "… went down the wrong way…"

"Idiot…" Uryu grumbled as he took a sip of his tea.

"Shuddup…" Ichigo replied then rubbed his face as he felt a wave of wariness wash over him.

"Ichigo…" Chad's voice pulled the tired teen back to the land of wakefulness, unaware that he began to slip into the land of nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ichigo answered his friend's unasked questioned, "I'm just tired, is all…"

"Uhn…"

Suddenly ocher eyes narrowed as he realized something…

"It's quiet…" He whispered as he realized that he no longer heard Keigo's ramblings.

"You're right…" Chad replied.

**THUD**…

Immediately they looked up to see Tatsuki suddenly collapse.

"**TATSUKI!**" Orihime cried as she rushed over to her fallen friend.

As the chestnut-brown haired girl had moved away, it was then that Ichigo saw Keigo and Mizuiro on the ground.

"**KEIGO! MIZUIRO!**" The young Shinigami cried as he attempted to get to his feet.

His vision instantly faded, leaving speckles of darkness and causing his knees to buckle. Staggering backwards Ichigo caught himself against the chain-link fence.

…_Aibou!_ Someone shouted, but their voice was muffled as if Ichigo had cotton in his ears.

His vision had partially returned but only to reveal that his other friends had too fallen.

… _wha -_ Ichigo could not think clearly. His head lulled to the side, hoping to catch someone's attention from below, but his eyes widened as he saw some of the other students, who would eat in front of the school, had also collapsed.

… _**AIBOU! RUN!**_The voice screamed, causing Ichigo to turn his attention back to his fallen friends.

The tawny-haired took a weak and shaky step forward, only to drop to his knees. His body was numb. He did not feel the pain of slamming his knee on the rooftop. Forcefully he crawled toward Uryu.

"Uryu…" Ichigo weakly called out as his mouth felt dry and as he shook the unconscious Quincy, "… wake… up…"

… _**AIBOU! STAY AWAKE! LE' ME OUT!**_

"… out… out where…" Ichigo whispered between pants.

It was getting difficult to stay awake and breathe.

"I knew it." Another voice stated, causing Ichigo to snap around but only to collapse onto his side.

_**AIBOU! STAY WIT' ME!**_ The voice panicked.

"… who…" Ichigo tried to ask who the voice was but everything was fading faster and deeper into darkness.

"I knew you would be prefect." The sinister voice murmured.

Vaguely Ichigo was aware that someone was touching him… touching his face… his hair… no one touched him, save for his sisters or when he needed healing from his many battles… weakly he batted the offender away, but it only caused the bastard to laugh.

"I put enough sedative in the food and drink to put down a bear and yet you still fight…" The dangerous voice gloated.

_**AIBOU! FIGHT! YA MUS' FIGHT!**_ The good voice commanded.

"… can't… S'rry… s'avy…" Ichigo whispered after each exhaled.

"Marvelous! Just simply marvelous!" The evil voice cooed, "You'll be my crowning masterpiece!"

_**GE' AWAY FROM 'IM! YA BASTARD! H'S MINE!**_ The good voice roared, instinctively giving Ichigo strength to move.

Painfully the tawny-haired Shinigami attempted to crawl away from the bad voice, but the sedatives that the bastard had spoken of had already dug its poisonous grip into him.

"**HA! HA!** Wonderful! Wonderful!" The bad voice cheered, "You're everything I expect you to be, and when I'm done perfecting you, you'll be the ultimate weapon! Take him! And don't forget to take a few others as well. We don't want to draw any immediate attention… just yet…"

"…no-oh…" Ichigo weakly whimpered as he felt himself being lifted up.

… _S'rry… guys…_ Ichigo mentally whimpered as the darkness engulfed him completely.

_Shh, Aibou, ya not alone. I'm 'ere…_ The good voice promised.


	2. Chapter 2

_**~Chapter 1~**_

"… we are sorry for interrupting your regularly schedule program…" The anchorwoman's voice was solemn and demanded viewer's their attention, "This just came in… As of fifteen minutes ago, there was an explosion at Karakura High…"

Glass shattered on the floor as a viewer stared helplessly at the TV…

"… there's been no confirmed report of how many are injured or worse dead…"

A cold shudder wrecked his body as if something foul had just walked across his grave…

"… local authorities and firefighters are currently working on getting the fire under control and rescuing the trapped students and teachers at this time. The chief of police have also requested that parents and family members of the students and faculty members to remain calm -"

"Ichigo!" Isshin whimpered as he bolted out of the Kurosaki Clinic.

His son was in danger. He felt it in every fiber of his body and soul, and he'll be damned to let some _human_ tell him to be calm.

He was a doctor. He was going to help stabilize the injured.

And he was a father. He was going to find his son, and by the heavens, if Isshin found out that a Shinigami had pass his son onto the other side, there was going to be hell to be paid!

_**#15#**_

The minutes blurred by for Kurosaki Isshin. As soon as he arrived, he showed the police his medical license and was immediately put to work. He ignored the fact that his son's high school laid half in ruins. He knew that he should be focusing on each of the injured that came to him, but he could not remember who he worked on nor how many. He knew it was selfish of him to have used his profession as means to find out about his son. One by one the injured came. Isshin helped some, but many he was too late for, and if he stopped for a moment, he might have realized that those he could not save should not have died in the first place… But his mind and heart was focused on one thing… His son… He had to find his son…

He had already failed to protect one precious person in his life. He had failed to protect his beloved wife, Masaki. He knew that if he failed again then he could not and would not forgive himself. He had to find his son… That was all that mattered now…

For hours, the brunette worked. Never taking a moment's rest, for fear of missing his son. And as the hours ticked by a new fear began to grip at Isshin's heart, his son was lost… _**NO!**_ The usually carefree doctor growled at himself. His face, more accustom to wearing a goofy smile, was set in stone as he pushed himself onto the next injured that came into the medical tent.

"Ungh…" The injured grunted, catching Isshin's attention for the first time.

"**ISHIDA!**" Isshin gasped as he recognized the son of his cousin by marriage.

"Ugh…" Uryu groaned again while Isshin quickly checked the youth for injuries… _Broken leg, a few lacerations and nasty bump on the head… he has the devil's luck, Ryuken._ Isshin mentally said as if Ishida Ryuken, Uryu's father, could hear him.

"Uryu…" Isshin quietly called.

"Hey Doc, we got a couple of more…" A technician called as he pointed to a couple of rescuers, who brought in more of the injured.

Isshin recognized them immediately. They were Ichigo's friends… If his son's friends were here now… Then his son was nearby. The brunette watched as the rescuers brought in Chad, Orihime, Tatsuki… Another girl, whom the senior Kurosaki did not know but assumed she knew his son… Then the rescuers brought in two more boys… Seconds pass into the minutes… After what seemed like an hour but only was about five minutes, Isshin began to realize that his son was not being brought in.

"No… no… no…" Isshin began to mutter. If his son was not coming to the medical tent then he was at the Other…

"No… no… no…"

"Isshin! Calm yourself!" A barely calm voice ordered as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around him.

"**NO! LET ME GO! MY SON! I HAVE TO FIND MY SON! THEY CAN'T HAVE HIM!**" Isshin cried as he thrashed against the strong arms that kept him in place.

"**ISSHIN!**" His captor cried as the distraught brunette was spun around and…

**SLAP!**

Isshin stood still, in shock. Someone had slapped him! His dark brown eyes blinked owlishly as they slowly focused on a familiar figure of his nakama, his blood-brother.

"K-Kisuke?" Isshin muttered, doubting his eyes.

Standing in front of him and holding onto his shoulders was Urahara Kisuke, an exiled Shinigami. But not just any Shinigami, Kisuke was the former Captain of the 12th Squad of the Gotei 13 and the First Head of Research and Development. Urahara wore his usual faded grey-green trousers and gi-top with the black hoari on top. The black hoari with the white diamonds along the bottom of the hem hid the pale blonde's cane. However, the blonde's cane was no ordinary cane. It was in fact the exiled Captain's zanpaku-to, Benihime, the Red Princess. The blonde's grey-blue eyes were hidden beneath the shadows of the most ugliest hats to ever been made, but Urahara loved the green and white hat because it was a gift… A gift from the most beautiful women in the world…

"W-When..?" Isshin's voice was small and laced with confusion.

"We've been here all night with you." The geta-wearing blonde explained. Not in the least bothered that his best friend had not noticed his or the other's presence.

As soon as he heard the news, Urahara, Tessai and Yoruichi had rushed over to the school to help. The blonde knew that his best friend would use his profession as a doctor to get into the area in the guise to help… Well, it was never a guise, Isshin really did help the injured, but the brunette's true goal and focus was his son, Ichigo.

"I-Ichigo's not here…" Isshin's voice was broken.

"Isshin…" A quiet feminine voice broke through the thick tension between the two males.

Isshin stared but not really seeing the dark-skinned beauty in front of him.

"Isshin, you have to help Ichigo's friends." The golden-eyed Shihoin Yoruichi said.

Dark brown eyes blinked again as focus returned to them. Isshin turned to look at his son's fallen friends.

"You're right… If I don't… He'll never forgive me…" Isshin mumbled and immediately went to work.

"Thank you…" Urahara whispered to the purple-tinted raven-haired heiress.

"Go, Kisuke…" She turned and ordered, "Go find your godson… And… And if a Shinigami had taken Ichigo to the other side, I want that bastard's name!"

Urahara gave the beautiful Assassin a rueful smile. The blonde knew that despite her calm demeanor, she was raging on the inside. She wanted to kill something or someone.

Urahara nodded his head and quickly left to find his godson.

After navigating around rescuers, debris and wailing mothers and fathers, Kisuke found the Other tent. He stood in front of it, not really knowing what to do. He did not know if he really could walk into the Other tent, knowing that all around him were the dead. The blonde let loose a humorless chuckle at the irony of it all… He was a Death God… An exiled Death God but a Death God nonetheless, and he was afraid to go see the dead… _They're just kids…_ The blonde realized the horrible truth to his fear. Those that lay beyond the tent's flaps were just children… Especially in comparison to how long _he_ had lived. Even the oldest faculty member was a babe compared to the dozen plus life times Kisuke had lived.

"Eh… Can I help you?" A voice broke through the blonde's thoughts.

"Eh… Yes, I'm sorry, but I'm looking for someone…" Urahara quietly said, "… My godson… Kurosaki Ichigo… He's hard to miss… Orange hair… A scowl on his face…"

The young man looked around then approached closer to the blonde.

"I'm not suppose to do this…" The young man whispered, "But I've seen you helping Dr. Kurosaki…"

Kisuke nodded.

"We're still recovering the…"

"Injured." Urahara replied, understanding the young man's hesitation. To say 'bodies' meant no hope, but to say 'injured' there was still hope that someone was alive. And at this moment, hope was all they had to continue.

"Luckily for us, this school is one of the schools that had implemented a biometric system…" The young man rambled.

And Urahara let him. As much as he wanted to know the truth, the blonde also feared it. So he let the young man ramble on about the system that had an electronic scan of every student and faculty member's fingerprints on file. It was truly ingenious… As the rescuers pulled out more and more 'injured', their fingerprints were scanned and their identity known immediately. It gave those who were waiting an immediate answer…

"Kurosaki's son is among the missing… Still unaccounted for…" The young man whispered.

"He's still in there…" Kisuke whispered as he stared at the ruined high school hopefully.

"I don't know… The bomb guys are saying that we might not recover everyone…" The young man cringed at the hard glare from the blonde, "I mean… I heard them say that the fire from the explosion was hot enough to… To…"

Kisuke looked away as he understood the young man. His eyes scanned the ruins behind the young man; however, he did not believe that would be the case for Ichigo. After all, they had found the teen's friends, and Urahara knew his godson well enough to know that Ichigo would never be too far away from his friends. No… They will find the tawny-haired Shinigami. It was just a matter of time.

"Eh… Excuse me, Sir." Another voice broke through the blonde's thoughts as Urahara looked back at the speaker.

It was a rescuer, carrying another body. The young man by the exiled Captain's side politely walked around the blonde as he pulled the young woman's hand and placed a finger on the scanner. Suddenly…

"Sir?" The young man gasped as he felt the iron grip of the lithe blonde.

Grey-blue eyes narrowed as he observed the young woman's corpse. The metallic scent of blood hung around her since she had a copper pipe lodged in her abdomen. Her eyes were beginning to cloud. A sign that she had been dead for a while. However, it was not the cause of the death that caught Urahara's attention, but a sickly sweet odor that was hidden beneath the coppery scent of blood. Kisuke leaned in closer, and unaware by the rescuer and the young man, a piece of Kisuke's black hoari fell into the young woman's blood.

"Excuse me, Sir!" The young man called.

"Oh… I'm sorry." Urahara stated as he pulled out his fan from the sleeve of his hoari, "For a moment, I thought I knew her…"

"Oh… I understand…" The young man replied then asked, "Do you?"

"Thankfully, no." The blonde answered, "I better go."

And without another word, Urahara walked away. Immediately his fan disappeared from sight as the blonde carefully removed his hoari and folded it neatly, protecting the stained sleeve from further contamination. That scent… He knew he had smelled it once before, but he could not remember where… However, he did know this… No human should have that scent on them… Something was not right…

"Kisuke…" Yoruichi whispered once she saw her friend come into the tent.

Urahara shook his head.

Tension immediately left the Shihoin Princess' body, but she began to nibble on her thumb in worry.

"Yoruichi, I need you to stay with him." Kisuke suddenly whispered as he watched his best friend tend to another injured.

"Of course… But where are you going?"

"There's something I need to check out." Urahara simply replied as he quickly slipped out of the tent.

Yoruichi frowned as her playmate's odd behavior.

Then her frown melted away to confusion as the wind changed course, carrying with it the scent of blood and another… A sickly sweet scent… Golden eyes grew wide… She recognized that scent! … Quickly she turned to find her friend, but he was already gone… Silently she prayed that she was wrong, and that the blonde's search revealed something else was amiss…


	3. Chapter 3

_**~Chapter 2~**_

A deep and yet pained groan echoed throughout the small cell. His body felt heavy and slightly sore from being drugged and manhandled, and his mouth was dry as a desert. Slowly he tried to open his eyes, but quickly discovered that they were caked shut from sleep. It took what little strength and energy he had gathered to command his arm to move. His hand slowly moved to his face as he weakly pawed at his caked eyelids and all the while trying to force his eyes open. After what seemed like hours, was in fact only minutes, the young man managed to pry his eyes open only to be blinded by the bright lights of his cell.

The young man felt his body roll heavily onto his back as he tried one more time opening his eyes. Slowly his eyes adjusted to the brightness and began to focus on his surroundings. The young man quickly realized that he was in some sort of clear cell. Instinctively, he reached his hand out to touch the wall. Instead of the cool and yet smooth feel of glass, the young man felt the too smooth and unnatural texture of plastic… _Plexi-glass… _The young man corrected himself then continued to look around himself. Absently he noted that he was laying on a simple, sheet-less mattress on the floor and to the corner opposite of him was a toilet and sink.

_This some predicamen' ya got us in, Aibou…_ A familiar voice teased, causing the young man to focus his attention to the front of himself.

Confusion colored his still drug-hazed eyes as he looked at his reflection in the plexi-glass wall across from him. His reflection revealed him laying on the mattress, but he was not alone. Sitting right next to his laying reflection was another young man… His double… A mirror-twin image of himself, save for this doppelganger had snow white hair that held highlights of silver, silvery-blue and even pale blue. And his eyes were sharp and haunting. They were a mix of amber and gold set against the black of the blackest abyss. The pale doppelganger gave the laying teen a devilish grin as the teen slowly reached behind his head to feel for the albino's leg, which according to the reflection, he was resting his head upon… But nothing… The teen felt nothing.

_Ah, don' worry, Aibou._ The doppelganger assured the confused teen, _Imma real… I jus' have no body like ya… Or did ya forge' 'bout me already?_

Slowly ocher orbs widened as the teen recognized his inner demon's feral grin. Immediately the teen's breathing quickened as he tried to understand how his darker half had materialize before him. His white shadow suddenly frowned as he noted his partner's panicked expression. Instinctively, the white reflection placed a hand on the teen's head. The teen flinched, fearing a strike from his baser self, but was surprised by the gentle caress he felt ripple through not only his hair but his soul.

_I aien' gonna hur' ya, Aibou…_ The white shade replied to his partner's confused expression.

Feeling that he had enough strength to sit up, the young man slowly sat up. For a moment, he closed his eyes to fight off a wave of dizziness then slowly reopened his eyes and came face to face with his inner darkness, who although looked nonchalant was watching the teen with a hidden worried glint in his golden orbs.

"Wh- wh-" The teen immediately fell into a coughing fit as he tried to speak.

_Easy, Aibou, ya migh' wanna ge' some water, firs'._ The white shadow recommended even though it sounded more like an order.

Ocher gems narrowed. Normally, he did not like to be ordered to do something, but his dark reflection had a point. Water would help ease the dry swelling in his mouth. Slowly the teen pushed himself to his feet and staggered to the sink. Turning on the faucet, the young man thanked whatever deity was listening that it worked. Cupping his hands together, the teen slowly began sipping the cool water. As he drank the refreshing liquid, the young man took the few moments to gather his thoughts and tried to remember what had happened. The teen looked over his shoulder to noticed that his inner demon was still watching him.

The white shade was leaning against the plexi-glass wall with one leg bent and his arms cross on top of the bent knee. Aside from the very human pose, the young man was surprised to see that his darkness was not wearing the white shihakusho. The white version of a Shinigami's black uniform.

"You're not wearing a shihakusho…" The teen whispered, which caused his doppelganger to arch a brow.

_Ya not in ya soul form._ He answered, which caused the teen's eyes to grow wide.

The teen immediately looked down to realize that he was wearing the same clothes as his white reflection. He was wearing a pair of pants that barely went pass his shins and his top was a wrap-around with quarter sleeves. The material was soft and most likely made of cotton, but it was the color that made the young man very wary. It was a pale blue, the same shade that hospitals used. In fact, the young man fearfully realized that his clothes were exactly the same type used in hospitals.

"I have a bad feelin' about this…" The teen whispered more to himself than to his white shadow.

_Hn._

The teen then rubbed his face as he tried to go over his memories of what had happened… Most of it was blank, but he remembered a few things here and there. Pacing along the length of the mattress, the young man began mumbling his thoughts and ignoring his shade, who personally did not mind. The teen remembered that he was at school, that he was with friends and that it was lunch time… Immediately stopping in his pacing, the young man began looking around him, trying to see past his clear prison walls to see if there was other cells similar to his own, but he only saw darkness. It was as if he was an island of light in a sea of darkness…

_Ah… How poetic…_ The white darkness cooed, causing the teen to glare at his cellmate, _Me, personally, I'da gone wit'… Strugglin', suffocatin' in th' sweet bosom of madness…_

Ocher eyes narrowed. There was something oddly familiar about the doppelganger's pose, but immediately shook his head. Now was neither the time nor the place to contemplate poetry. He had to find his friends, to ensure that they were not in the same mess as he was. The teen closed his eyes as he concentrated on the energy around him. Slowly he build up his reiatsu, his spiritual pressure, to excited the minimal reishi, or spiritual particles, that existed in the human world. As the teen increased his reiatsu, a deep frown became etched on his face, breaking his concentration.

_Now, thadda face…_ His shadow remarked.

"Shuddup…"The teen mumbled, but it held no bite as he looked around him.

_Somethin' wron'?_

"The reishi feels funny…" The young man muttered.

This caused the white reflection to arch a brow. Yes, the teen's inner demon could _sense_ the reishi in the air, but he could not taste it… not without a body.

_Funny how?_ The white phantom was truly curious.

"It's hard to describe…" The teen shook his head, but did not go further to explaining, causing the white darkness to roll his eyes at his partner's stubbornness.

The teen pushed his concerns about the odd reishi aside and focused again on his reiatsu. Gradually raising his reiatsu once more to excite the odd reishi, the young man then condensed his concentration and reiatsu into forming reiraku, or spiritual threads. Reiraku were the visualization of reiryoku, or spiritual power, into tangible threads or ribbons. Every living being possessed some small amount of reiryoku. Some more than others, and some were bursting at the seams with it. The color and condition of these ribbons also told of the power level and state of each being. For example, the young man's own reiraku, which wrapped itself around the teen protectively, was a bright shade of red like a ruby glowing in the sun and was smooth and untattered… The red color of a spirit thread signified the young man as a Shinigami and the brightness of the color reflected the immense power, which slept within his lithe form. And the pristine condition of the youth's ribbon reflected the teen's inner strength, his resolve and his purity of his soul.

Taking a deep breath, the young man held out his hand, ghosting over the reiraku that had gathered around him. He knew his friends' reiatsu. He knew what their reiatsu felt like at their peak and at their weakest. And as his hands ghosted over the reiraku, the tension in his shoulders began to ease away as he came to realize that his friends were not there, which meant that they were safe.

Suddenly there was a shift in the spirit threads.

The young man opened his eyes, breaking his concentration. Frowning for a moment, the teen immediately went to the mattress and laid down, closing his eyes.

_Playin' possum?_ The doppelganger teased, but received no retort.

A few minutes later, footsteps echoed from the darkness, sounding thunderous in the near silence. Then a figure emerged from the shadows into the light, followed by another smaller figure. The footsteps stopped outside of the teen's cell. No words were exchanged while the teen could hear a swiping of a card and then an audible click.

_Electronic lock…_ The white reflection muttered, knowing that the teen would hear him.

_Bah… uhm… t'ere's somethin' odd 'bout Bastard 1..._ The shade's tone was cautious as if he was not sure of what to make of 'Bastard 1'. _Bes' wait 'til ya in th' hall tah escape…_

Mentally the teen agreed with his demon and continued to 'sleep'.

"Experiment 4215..." A voice casually said, as if reading something. The voice immediately became known as Prick 1 in the teen's mind to which his darkness cackled in agreement. "… still asleep..? Well, that is to be expected after the first series of injections…"

_Injections? What the fuck?_ The teen mentally demanded.

_Dunno, bah wait!_ The white shadow ordered.

"312, pick him up." Prick 1 ordered, causing Bastard 1 to grunt.

The young man felt himself being picked up and then thrown onto Bastard 1's shoulder. Risking a glance, the teen opened his eyes slightly to see that he was being carried out of his cell. He did not see Prick 1, which meant that he was in the lead… To where the teen had no idea nor did he wish to know. After a few minutes in the darkness, the teen's eyes adjusted very quickly. He had no idea as to where he was, which unnerved the teen slightly but quickly pushed the fear aside as he continued to maintain his observation of his surroundings. The young man quickly guessed that he was in some sort of underground facility and that his cell was in a different part of the facility because as he got closer to wherever, he began to pick up the faint sounds of movement and moaning.

Taking a deep breath, the teen figured that now was a good time as any to make his escape.

Without a second thought, the young man slammed his elbow into the back of Bastard 1's head.

Bastard 1 grunted, letting go of the teen, who gracefully rolled off the burly man's shoulder and onto his feet.

Once on his feet, the teen bolted down the hall. He could hear Prick 1 screaming at Bastard 1, but the teen did not care as he ran for freedom.

Suddenly the corridor screamed with alarms and sirens, causing the teen to stagger at the sudden noise, but he did not slow down.

Immediately the young man knew he was in trouble as he heard running feet converging on his location. The teen ran this way and that until suddenly he heard a loud pop…

His entire body suddenly felt as if it was on fire. His eyes stared into nothing. His scream of pain trapped in his throat. His body seized, no longer under his command, and crashed to the ground. The pain lasted for only five seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Once the pain stopped, the teen let out a whimper while his lungs hungrily took in air. For five seconds, he could not breathe. Gathering his strength, the young man tried to get up and move but immediately he felt the burning pain rip through him a second time, this time longer. Once it stopped, the teen was gasping for air.

"Experiment 4215..." Another voice cooed.

The teen recognized the voice. It was the 'evil voice' that had kidnapped him from his school and drugged him.

"Kurosaki Ichigo…" Evil Voice purred, causing the teen to flinch, but he looked up nonetheless and glared at the monster in front of him.

He was afraid. He would not lie about it, but he was not going to back down. He was going to show these bastards that they will not break him.

The Evil Voice laughed at the tawny-haired teen's defiance.

The laughter sent cold shivers down Ichigo's spine, but he did not waver.

"Already awake and fighting only after 6 hours of being brought here and receiving your first treatment… Excellent… Excellent… Not even Experiment 1421 made such progress on the first day!" The Evil Voice praised, "We'll proceed to Phase II of your treatment. Take him!"

Ichigo attempted to struggle but knew it was useless once he felt hands with the strength to shatter his bones grab him and proceeded to pull him away.

"My apologies, Master, for letting him get away." Prick 1 groveled.

"I'll deal with you later." The Evil Voice snarled as he backhanded his subordinate.

"Master?" Another voice called.

"**WHAT?**"

"I believe you should see this." The newcomer stated as he held out a report.

"What is it?" The Evil Voice demanded, not bothering in taking the report.

"I conducted an analysis of the other subjects we've gathered with Experiment 4215 -"

"So? I told you to dispose of them once they're dead."

"Yes'sir, but you see, Master, nine of them survived."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Master, I checked myself, and the results show that they have elevated levels of Spiritrons… Not at the same levels as Experiment 4215, but it's still enough to make them excellent candidates for the experiments."

The Evil Voice looked over the results and was delighted to see that his subordinate was correct. These nine survivors were excellent candidates.

"Begin the treatments at once!"

"As you wish, Master."


	4. Chapter 4

_**~Chapter 3~**_

"**YORUICHI!**" Kisuke bellowed as he ran into the Kurosaki Clinic.

"Kisuke? What is it?" The dark-skinned princess answered as she came out of the family kitchen, located in the back of the clinic. She immediately noted how out of breath her childhood friend was and wondered if he had ran all the way to the clinic from his candy shop.

"Ishida…" Kisuke panted as he attempted to regain his breath. The golden-eyed assassin was half correct about her assessment that the exiled Shinigami had ran to the clinic. He had originally ran from his shop, the Urahara Shoten, to Karakura High, only to be told that his friend Isshin had taken Ichigo's friends to his clinic, and thus from the high school he ran and prayed that he was not too late. "…condition…"

Yoruichi frowned.

"He's stable for the moment." She answered, "As are the others." She added when the pale blonde pushed past her to enter the clinic area.

The former Captain made a straight bee-line to the resting Quincy's bed. The raven-haired Quincy looked paler than usual, due to blood-loss, but looked fine nonetheless. Urahara then gently placed his hand over the teen's heart and closed his eyes. He slowly raised his reiatsu to excite the surrounding reishi, hoping to feel the raise of the Quincy's own reiatsu. The Shoten-owner knew that the young Quincy heir had lost the bulk of his Quincy powers during the teen's fight against the current 12th Captain of the Gotei 13; however, Urahara also knew that the younger Ishida still had enough to keep him aware of the presences of Hollows and Shinigami. As the geta-wearing male raised his reiatsu, he frowned as he felt the faint trickle of the Quincy's own reiatsu and the residual flicker of his friend's reiatsu.

Kisuke did not know if it was intentional or accidental that Isshin had infused the teen with the brunette's own reiatsu. Which ever the case may be, the pale blonde was just grateful that it happened.

He had tested the girl's blood and had to test it numerous of times because he had feared that he had made a mistake. Kisuke still wished he had.

"Kisuke?" Yoruichi called, drawing her friend's attention to the present.

Urahara blinked then looked over the other injured friends of his godson. Instead of answering the Shihoin heiress, he went over to the others and repeated his actions with each of them. Two of them had their own minimal amount of reiatsu, which meant that they would be fine on their own for the time being. The other two, however, had only Isshin's infused reiatsu, coursing through them, and it was fading. Kisuke took a deep breath and gathered more of his reiatsu and slowly began pouring it into them.

"Kisuke! What are you doing?" Yoruichi shouted once she realized what her childhood friend was doing.

Regardless of the fact that Urahara was already exiled from the Soul Society, it was still taboo to infuse humans with the reiatsu of a Shinigami. Yoruichi knew this. Kisuke knew this, but the blonde also knew that Ichigo would never forgive him if Kisuke could not have prevented the deaths of any of the teen's friends when the blonde had the power to do so.

Urahara took a step back. He could feel the drain a bit, but it was nothing that he could not handle.

"Kisuke! What the hell!" Yoruichi demanded.

"That'll do… for now." The blonde muttered to himself.

"What are you talking about?" Yoruichi continued, "You know it's dangerous to infuse humans with Shinigami reiatsu… exiled or not!"

"It's what keeping them alive!" Urahara snapped then he paled at the realization of his own words.

"What?" The dark-skinned princess gasped.

"Shit!" Kisuke swore, "Where's Isshin?"

"I had to sedate him." Yoruichi answered as she watched helplessly as Kisuke ran to a nearby phone.

"Kisuke! What the hell is going on?" Yoruichi demanded again only to bristle as the blonde wavered his hand to shush her. She growled and was prepared to attack her friend when she froze in place upon hearing a name slip past his lips.

"I need to speak with Director Ishida Ryuken."

_**#15#**_

Reading over the reports of the injured from Karakura High, a silver-haired man just sneered with disdain at another praise that was written in the margin of a patient's charts by one of his many doctors. His doctors were praising the doctor, at the scene of this latest attack, for his abilities, and the silver-haired man could do nothing about it. He could not tell his doctors to cease their praises because despite his hatred toward _that_ doctor, his doctors were right. If _that_ doctor had not been there then there would have been more funerals being prepared than there was.

The silver-haired man tossed the chart onto his desk as he leaned back. Closing his hard eyes, the silver-haired man sighed before opening them once more to stare at the only two personal items in his office… Pictures… One of his beloved cousin, smiling at him without judgment, and the other of his late wife, holding their infant son, who was slowly looking more like her with each passing day… So much like his wife that it was hard for him to look at his son. The silver-haired man clenched his teeth and immediately returned to work. His only consolation, as he read each report, was that he did not have a report on his son nor was he notified by the police that his son was dead. He knew then that his son was still alive and probably under _his_ care. The silver-haired man may hate _that_ man, and he may be estranged from his son, but he knew that _that_ man would give his son the best of care… Or else!

"Excuse me, sir?" An elderly woman knocked, causing the silver-haired man to look up at his receptionist.

"Yes, Aiyame, what is it?"

"There's a man on the phone for you?" She began, "He said he's name is Urahara Kisuke…"

Color drained from his face.

"A friend of Dr. Kurosaki Isshin."

He knew who the caller was. After all he made it a point to know of all of _that_ man's associates. The silver-haired man did not bother to dismiss his receptionist. He did not bother to ask which line he was on. He just picked up the phone.

"Shinigami." He growled. His hatred for their kind oozed in his voice.

"Now is not the time, Ryuken." Ryuken blinked at the snappish tone that the usually jester-like blonde spoke with. "The other patients, that Isshin saved, are they stable?"

"You doubt his abilities, Urahara?" Ryuken demanded with an arched brow.

"Quickly! Before it's too late, infuse them with your reiatsu!"

"What? Are you mad, Shinigami?" Ryuken questioned.

"Just do it! I'll expla -"

"Kisuke! It's Uryu!" Ryuken heard a woman shout.

"Shit!" Was all the elder Ishida heard as the phone on the other end crashed and died.

Something was happening to his son, and there was nothing he could do…

"**DIRECTOR ISHIDA!**" Someone shouted, snapping Ryuken out of his daze. "The patients! They're crashing!"

"**WHAT?**" The silver-haired man gasped as he rushed out of his office with the Shinigami's words ringing in his mind… _Infuse them with your reiatsu!_

_**#15#**_

"Director Ishida, sir?" Aiyame knocked and took a tentative step inside the young director's office. A frown marred her comely and yet elderly face. Although Aiyame had several grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way, she was still something to look at. She did not look her age of 62 years old, and she accredited her youthful looks to healthy living, good genes and a stress-less life; however, the later portion of her good fortunate had turned into a nightmare ever since the attack on Karakura High.

Aiyame knew of the estrangement between the Director and his son. She knew it had something to do with a family legacy, which she did not understand. However, despite all of that, Aiyame knew that the elder Ishida loved his son. The young silver-haired man almost had ran out of the hospital to go to the school when the first patients arrived. After taking a look at the stitched injuries, the young Director relaxed as if he knew something, and Aiyame did not questioned her superior… And then that phone call… To Aiyame, it seemed as if they had entered into another realm of the nightmare.

The patients, who at one moment were fine, then began to convulse and crash. The patients were dying, and when the Director arrived, he repeated what the others had done but… He succeeded. No one could explain it, but no one questioned him as he began barking orders while he ran to patient to patient. Aiyame watched from the safety of the nurse's station and noticed with each patient, that the silver-haired Ishida had saved, the young Director became paler and paler and became more and more drained of energy. Once the last patient was seen to and stabilized, it was Aiyame, who took charge, ordering two of the staff's burliest orderlies to escort the Director to his office for some rest. He did not protest… And that was almost twelve hours ago.

"Ryuken?" Aiyame called. She was one of few people who could freely call the young man by his given name, but she did not do it often for fear that others may try to make it sound as if the young man favored her over all the other employees… And in a way, he did.

However, she received no answer to her calls. She walked over to the simple sofa, which decorated the office and where the two orderlies had said that they had left their exhausted Director. And true to their words, there laid the sleeping Director, still wearing his blazer, tie and glasses. Aiyame knew that she could not do much about the blazer and the loose tie, but the askew glasses… She easily slipped those off.

"Ung…" Ryuken grunted as his dull hazel-brown eyes stared blindly at Aiyame's figure. It was an affliction that the young man had inherited from his father and had passed it along to his son… Poor eye sight. "Aiyame?"

"Yes'sir." She answered as she set the silver-framed glasses to the side and moved to gather a throw blanket from the back of the sofa.

"The patients…" Ryuken made to sit up only to be gently pushed back down by his secretary.

"Hush…" Aiyame ordered, "They're fine. They've been stabilized. Now, rest. You deserved it."

Ryuken did not move and averted his eyes from her blurry form to stare at nothing.

"How many?" He quietly asked.

He did not need to clarify his question. Aiyame knew what he meant. Slowly she seated herself on the sofa's edge.

"Seventeen, sir." She whispered to which Ryuken closed his eyes and exhaled sharply. "Sir, if I may be bold to ask…"

"Hm…"

"Why did you send the blood samples to a candy shop?"

Ryuken knew he would be questioned about that. And despite the fact that he hated Shinigami and anything associated with them, he also knew that the Shoten-owner was one of the best scientists… If not _the_ best alive or dead.

"He may be a bastard, but he's good at what he does." Ryuken grudgingly muttered.

"Ryu-kun!" A teasing voice chirped, causing Aiyame and Ryuken to tense up. "You do care!"

"Shinigami." Ryuken growled, angry at himself for not sensing the eccentric man's reiatsu.

"Who are you!" Aiyame demanded, which caused the pale blonde to grin before swaggering up to the befuddled receptionist.

Urahara gathered a dainty hand into his own larger hand and placed a chaste kiss on the back of Aiyame's hand.

"I am but a humble shop owner of the Urahara Shoten." Urahara purred smoothly, causing Aiyame to blush and Ryuken to groan. "I come to check on a dear friend to make sure that he didn't work himself into an early grave."

"Oh…" Aiyame replied breathlessly as she found herself lost in the strange man's stormy grey-blue eyes.

"And looks like I was correct!" Urahara chirped as he stood straight with his infamous fan in hand, "You're just as bad as Isshin."

"**DON'T!**" A pillow came flying into the air but missing the geta-wearing blonde by the proverbial mile, "**EVER! COMPARE! ME! TO! HIM!**"

Urahara then chuckled as he suddenly came to a realization.

"What are you smirking at?" Ryuken demanded as he narrowed his eyes on the green blob in front of him.

"You can see without your glasses?" Urahara asked with a slight tilt of his head.

"No." Ryuken answered, "But I know you, Shinigami."

"Ah!" The blonde replied, "I just realized where he got his temper, is all."

Ryuken was silent. The silver-haired Quincy was not sure to whom specifically the blonde was talking about. They both had a redhead's temper…

"My son." Ryuken said, knowing that the blonde would understand.

"He's fine." Urahara replied soberly, dropping his teasing tone, "We've stabilized him. It will take a while, but he and the others affected will recover."

A thick silence fell over the room as Ryuken struggled with himself to ask. He may hate the man, who took his beloved cousin from him, but the boy and the two girls were also a part of _her._

"Masaki…" Ryuken took a deep breath, "Masaki's son… what of him?"

The air was thick with heavy tension as one word shattered everything and bringing forth a new level of terror…

"Missing."


	5. Chapter 5

_**~Chapter 4~**_

Laying on his back, Ichigo felt the cool glass seep its chilly temperature into his hot body, cooling the fiery pain that coursed through him. The tawny-haired teen had no idea how long he had laid there, but in reality, he did not care as long as the pain went away. The young Shinigami did not understand _why_ this nightmare was happening, but he did know _what_ was happening to him. After all, he was the son of a doctor. He could recognize an experiment when he saw one, and he was in one… He just did not know what type of experiments that these bastards were conducting on him, and he could only guess as to how many experiments were already conducted so far.

Ichigo let out a deep sigh as he let his mind drift to other things, such as his friends, his sisters, how long before the others realize that he had been kidnapped and send out a rescue party… if they send out a rescue party… and ways to escape… Just because he hoped that the others would send a rescue party, it did not mean that he was just going to lay around and wait.

_If tha' th' case 'en why ya're still layin' t'ere?_Cooed his shade from above him.

Ichigo cracked open a single chocolate-ocher eye to glare at his pale companion. His doppelganger squatted down by his head, with his arms relaxed on each knee. Molten golden orbs, although still had their usual hard edge to them, looked upon the tawny-haired teen in concern. They were after all linked. What the teen had felt earlier, the bodiless phantom felt as well… However, not to the same extent as the teen since the specter did not have a body… A bitter blessing, if the white shadow was brutally honest.

_Shuddup…_Ichigo mentally mumbled.

His doppelganger tilted his head to the side when he noted that his partner's tone lacked its usual bit. A scowl appeared on the shade's face.

_Wha' 'ey do tah ya?_

_Why do you care?_Ichigo asked as he closed his eye again, mentally happy that the pain had subsided enough that he could move.

_Th' glass wa' crackin' an' th' whole place felt like it wa' on fire… Aibou, wha' did ya ge' us intah?_

_**ME?**_Ichigo snapped as he glared at his internal troublemaker. His eyes carried a glint of gold, which meant his pain was forgotten in favor for anger.

The white maniac's scowl quickly morphed into his more familiar feral grin as he was mentally pleased by his partner's fiery temper. It meant that the tawny-haired teen was alright. Granted, his partner was still alive, but the white shadow knew that it did not matter if the body lived while the soul was dead. The demonic specter was bound and determined to make sure that nothing happened to his partner's soul… _This fer self-preservation…_ The white shade told himself, eventually he would believe it.

Ichigo suddenly flipped to his feet and turned to face his inner demon, who just arched a brow before his feral grin morphed into a shitty-smile.

_What makes you think it's my fault! _Ichigo demanded while waving a clutched fist.

This caused the pale darkness to roll his eyes. He leaned back, letting his body fall onto the sideway glass building with a quiet 'thud'.

_**HEY!**_Ichigo shouted, knowing that his white reflection was about to ignore him, _I'm talking to you asshole!_

_Ya an idiot…_

_**WHAT?**_

_Ya heard me… Ya. An. Idiot…_

Ichigo could feel his left eye twitch in anger and annoyance. He knew that he should not be angry at his shadow, but he did not know who else to be angry at. Annoyed, angry, frustrated and a bit scared, Ichigo did the only thing that felt right…

He let out a roar and lunged.

_Wha' th' - __**OOPF!**_The shadow heard his partner's frustrated battle cry and was truly surprised that the tawny-haired teen had lunged at him. Not one to pass up on a good fight, the shade happily tussled with the young Shinigami on the ground.

The twins of light and darkness just wrestled and grappled with one another. Neither really fighting for dominance, just fighting for the sake of it. The impromptu match continued for several more minute under the watchful eye of the Moon Piercer. Although the haggard spirit of the Moon looked on with stoic disinterest, mentally the ancient spirit was pleased that his two charges were getting 'along'. The match continued until Ichigo let out a pained cry, followed by the teen's mindscape cracking under the pressure of the pain and the world raising in temperature.

Immediately the pale doppelganger leapt off of his partner while Ichigo rolled to his side, trying to regain focus and his breathing. The white reflection let loose a deep growl of anger as he watched crystal liquids roll down the teen's crimson cheeks. Ichigo opened an eye, his vision blurry, but he could make out the white blob that was his inner demon. The growling ceased once he saw the tawny-haired teen's pure chocolate brown orbs. Ichigo was in a lot of pain. The young Shinigami closed his eyes in shame, knowing that his inner demon must think him weak.

The teen immediately let out a gasp and tensed, which only caused the pain to worsen.

_Relax, Aibou…_The shade whispered as he gently pulled the teen's hoari free from his hamaka, exposing his partner's lower back. The white specter hissed at the sight of his partner's badly discolored lower back. Ichigo's entire lower back was an unhealthy brownish-purple color. The discoloration even went as high as the teen's mid-back, but the white shade knew that the tawny-haired Shinigami's entire back was sensitive. Molten gold orbs narrowed as he noted the puncture wounds along the teen's spine.

Whatever those madmen had injected the teen with, they had not done it just once but multiple times. And they did not stop at Ichigo's back, they had also injected him with something in the leg… Both legs… It was in fact that pain that had caused the teen to black out on the operating table.

The dark twin gently placed a cool hand over Ichigo's bruised back, slowly pouring his own unique healing reiatsu into the injury… Soothing the pain and fire, and healing his partner.

A relieved whine escaped past Ichigo's lips as he felt a cooling wave wash over him and his body relaxing. He did not know how or why his white reflection was helping him. He was just grateful that the doppelganger was.

Three times those bastard had injected something into his spine. The teen was not stupid. He knew as soon as they had strapped him down and flipped the table around that the bastards were going to perform a spinal tap. The first time was painful. The second time was worse and the third time, his entire body had gone numb, but he was still awake… Barely. Then the monsters had flipped him over again. The tawny-haired teen had barely made out the twin massive needles before the thick needles were jammed into his thighs. They were jammed so deep that they hit bone, and deeper they jammed until they hit marrow.

Whatever those monstrous bastards were doing to him, Ichigo knew that it was only the beginning.

The young Shinigami did not know how long his darkness remained where he was with his hand over the tawny-haired teen's lower back. It could have been seconds, minutes or even hours. He did not know, but he could feel himself drift away into a deeper slumber. He was nearly gone into the sweet oblivion when he felt his white shade shift and slipped his cool hand down the side opening of the teen's hamaka, gently hovering over the burning bruise on Ichigo's thigh. Another relieved whine escaped the teen's lips.

_Ya know_, The white phantom purred,_ it be easier if I take control…_

_**NO!**_Ichigo's chocolate-hued eyes snapped open. Pain and fear echoed brightly, causing the pale specter to back off with a sneer. The tawny-haired teen was oblivious to the sneer as his mind immediately conjured up horrors of what those bastards might do… Not just to him but to his shadow as well. _No… can't… mustn't… never… just me… just me… ace… ace… escape… name… need… name…_

Ichigo's voice trailed off as the past day's events and torment had finally caught up with the teen, dropping him into the dark regions of sleep. Leaving his white reflection to look at his partner in a mix of anger and concern. His partner's words made no sense to him, but beside the confusion, he also felt hurt. Despite his attempts to help, his partner still refused him. He had not meant that he should gain permanent control, just enough to heal the teen's body. After all, rejuvenation was one of his abilities.

_He's correct, you know._ An ancient voice replied from above the twins of light and darkness, causing the white shadow to growl and snarl.

_Wha' do ya mean?_

_They must not know about you._Zangetsu, the Piercer of the Moon, explained.

The doppelganger blinked then scowled.

_Wha' do ya mean?_ He asked more calmly than before.

_If they were to discover about you or your healing ability then there would be nothing preventing them from doing worse._ The ancient Moon spirit answered.

The specter's face slacked in horror as he turned his attention back to his partner. Of course… Ichigo was still human despite the amount of power that was coursing through his veins. Human was human, and there was only so much that the human body could take. But it was also obvious that these bastards wanted Ichigo specifically. After all, they went through all the trouble of kidnapping him. They wanted the teen alive. They would take their time with whatever their plans were. Ichigo was still human. They would let the teen heal before continuing, but if the white shade healed the teen then they would know… They would not know of _him_specifically, but they would know that they could do worse to Ichigo and the tawny-haired teen would heal from it.

_Shit…_ The doppelganger growled in anger.

_I agree._Zangetsu replied with barely contained anger. It went against the spirit's nature to allow his host to suffer as well as it went against the shadow's nature; however, if any of them hoped to devise a plan of escape, it would have to be during these periods of 'rest'. Zangetsu then watched impassively from behind his smoky tinted visor at the dark twin plopped down beside his light and gently gathered the unconscious teen into his pale arms.

_I aien' healin' 'im!_ The shade snapped at the older spirit, who said nothing, _Jes' takin' th' edge off…_

_Hn…_ The brunette Moon spirit murmured, hiding a rueful smile. He said nothing else as he continued his silent watch over his twin Masters.

Zangetsu knew that he did not have to say anything to the white darkness of what was happening. The pale phantom knew that whatever was happening to his partner was also happening to him. They were linked. It just was that Ichigo would be feeling the full brunt and pain of it all. The white shadow then buried his face into his partner's neck, letting his healing reiatsu slowly seep into his partner to take some of the edge of the pain away. It would take longer this way, but deep down, the dark twin did not care, and he knew that neither did his partner.

Zangetsu just watched and wondered about his host's last words in his jumbled dialogue before he faded into sleep. Name… The stoic Moon spirit wondered what sort of name would the tawny-haired teen gift his moon-white shadow.

**Author's Note:**

**I wish to thank everyone who had voted in the past to help me with this story's plot. Each and everyone of you had help narrowed down the large list of possibilities into a smaller on; however, the list of possibilities is still impressive. I have narrowed down 4 of the 5 varibles, but I still need your help. Please, bare with me and help me.**

**For the evil scientist, we had two contenders:  
A. Mayuri  
B. A Human**

**For the animal DNA, it's a tie between:  
A. Snow Leopard  
B. Wolf**

**For the heroic rescuer, it's another tie between:  
A. Aizen/Gin  
B. Kenpachi**

**And for Ichigo's Hollow's name, it's a toss up between:  
A. Loki (as in the Norse God of Mischief)  
B. Shiro (short for Shirosaki)**

**The pairing... Well, that was a hands down Ichigo and his Hollow. **

**And for now, I'll leave everything up to you, my readers, as I am off to work on my other pieces which demand my attention. And thank you for your help and support.**

**-Azteka**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Previously on Bleach - A Breed Apart, Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends are slowly returning to their former lives after rescuing their friend from execution. But after several weeks, a new terror strikes Karakura Town, killing hundreds of innocents and leaving behind a mystery… Where is Ichigo?**_

_**~Chapter 5~**_

_**The Great Hall of Records, Seireitei**_

The entire compound was engulfed in a heavy silence as to be expected since it was night, and all of the residences within were fast asleep. The stalking shadow sneered at the imaginary faces of the sleeping residences. It angered her that they could sleep peacefully when only hours ago, her world and that of her dear friends had not only turned upside down but also inside out.

How could they sleep without care when so many innocent lives had come to a brutal end? Did they honestly believe that they were immune from the terror of violence? How could they easily forget of the terror that had consumed them only weeks ago?

She shook her head, freeing her mind of her thoughts as she concentrated on slipping pass the nobleman's protective wards. She landed silently into one of the many gardens of the lord's main estate, waiting with held breath for some sort of alarm alerting the residences of her intrusion. However, no sound echoed throughout the night.

Her yellowish-golden orbs narrowed in silent anger. She never would have expected _this _nobleman would be so lax in his security, but she quickly buried her anger and disappointment. She had a mission to accomplish; a slender dark bronze hand gently patted her chest, ensuring her that the simple piece of paper was safely tucked away in her shirt.

In a blink of an eye, she disappeared as if she was just a figment of the imagination.

Using every skill that she processed in stealth, she slipped into the main estate and swiftly ran for the estate's ancestral shrine. Each of the four great noble houses of the Seireitei naturally possessed an ancestral shrine; however, this particular noble's shrine was much more than a simple center of worship. This particular shrine hid an astonishing secret that only a select few, even among the Seireitei's elite, knew of.

As a member of one of the Four Noble Houses, she had often visited the other nobles when she was younger, and she was even one of the luckier few to receive the honor of visiting the special shrine, which meant she was the only one capable of sneaking into the noble's compound and into the shrine. The shrine lead to an underground cavern, which housed the Great Hall of Records.

The Great Hall of Records was a misnomer in reality, but no words existed to properly describe this mysterious library. There was millions upon millions of books, scrolls and journals, and with each passing season and year, more and more books, scrolls and journals would appear. Not even with immortality could one be able to read each and every book, scroll and journal, and yet the Great Hall of Records required no custodian, no librarian, and no record keeper. It was as if the gigantic archive was self-sufficient. True, the noble house, that reside above the Hall of Records, considered itself the guardian and keeper of the library, but no member of the family actually took physical care of the records.

And what records they were!

Each book, scroll and journal was the written history and story of _every_ living being on Earth! Written down for all eternity was one's entire life, from birth to childhood to adulthood to death and to the Hereafter. Every single hope, dream, accomplishment and failure were written down without judgment or prejudice, and all of that were not written down by any mortal or immortal hand. No one knew how the Great Hall of Records came to be nor did they know how it was maintained, and at this moment, she did not care.

The Hall of Records was a means to an end. An end, she hoped, that would bare answers to many questions.

She easily slipped pass the shrine's gate and began down the dozen plus flights of stairs. She quickly came before a simple wicker door. There was nothing very ornate about the door, especially in comparison to the estate above. With a gentle push, the door swung open and in a blink of an eye, the dark Hall came to life with torchlight fires as if the archive was expecting her.

Her yellowish-golden orbs grew wide in wonder and in amazement at the sight of the Hall. It was as she remembered it as a child, and yet at the same time, it was grander than she remembered. Suddenly the reality of her mission quickly came crashing around her and her bronze complexion became pale in realization at the daunting task at hand. She licked her full lips and took a shaky step forward.

_Please, Kami, help me find what I seek._

_**#15#**_

Time seemed to have a different meaning within the Great Hall of Records.

It felt as if she had only been down in the archives for only a few minutes, perhaps half an hour. But she knew that she had been down in the Hall for longer than that. In fact, she would not be surprised if it was already the next day, even mid-morning. In those long hours, she had accomplished a little over a half of her mission.

A heavy and pained sigh escaped pass her lips as she glanced down the sheet of paper in her hand. Thirty-eight names were written down in a familiar scribble. By nineteen of the 38 names, she had written down the victims' time of death. She even noted on whether or not their bodies would be found. _It would seem that the Humans were right about the explosion._ She mournfully thought. The poor unfortunate ones, who were closest to the explosion, will never have a proper burial to put their souls to rest nor to give their loved ones closure.

Taking a deep breath in, she looked up and pulled down a simple journal-thick book and immediately opened it to the end. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed this was the third death that was not located near the school and yet they were one of the missing students. Placing the sheet of paper on the shelf before her, she cradled the book in her left hand as she flipped to the previous page with her right.

Her eyes grew wide in shock at the passage she had read… _Reishi Depletion… _cause of death was reishi depletion, much like the seventeen victims from Karakura General Hospital. It was a painful form of death, inflicting the victims with an intense fever as their reishi was being devoured from within, and it was also the most horrific form of absolute death! Not even being devoured by a Hollow could compare. To die from reishi depletion, one ceased to ever exist, no rebirth, no Hereafter. At least when one was devoured by a Hollow, they continued to exist within the Hollow, becoming part of the Hollow, helping the Hollow evolve…

She quickly snatched the sheet of names and renewed her frantic search for the victims' cause of death. This time she looked more closely.

More hours flew by, and her search was nearly complete. Out of the 38 still unaccounted for students and faculty members, nineteen died at the school. Three of the eight victims, whose bodies would never be recovered, had been victims of reishi depletion, and of the eleven yet to be recovered, only two died from the depletion. Aside from the mystery of the twenty-two victims dying from reishi depletion, another mystery took precedent and that mystery was what happened to the other half of the 38 unaccounted students and faculty members… Nine of the remaining missing 19 have died from reishi depletion, but it was their location that confused her… _Johan Boehner's Laboratory_.

She had never heard of Johan Boehner. It was a very odd name to belong to a Shinigami, and she feared the implication of Johan Boehner possibly being a Human. How did a Human get their hands on the Black Iris poison?

The Black Iris poison was an unique and rare poison. It had the ability to devour one's reishi once it entered the bloodstream. It was the preferred method of execution and assassination of her Clan, the Shihoin, in centuries past. And before her self-imposed exile a hundred years ago, she was fortunate enough to have her clan destroy the entire stockpile of that awful poison. The only time she had heard of that poison being used, since her order to destroy the stockpile, was fifty years ago in a failed assassination attempt on one of the leaders of Four Noble Houses.

_How did this Johan Boehner get hold of a Shihoin poison, and where is he keeping the others?_ She thought to herself. She was able to find nine more of the 19 missing. They were still alive, but the Records did not reveal more of their location… just Johan Boehner's Laboratory.

And there was one more name that she had yet to research.

The _**real **_reason why she snuck into the Great Hall of Records.

"Shihoin Yoruichi." A soft monotone voice murmured, startling the Assassin Heiress.

Yoruichi snapped around. Her yellowish-golden orbs grew wide while her body was tense. Slowly she relaxed her defensive stance but remained alert as she observed the taller, pale complexioned nobleman. Neither moved nor gave away each other's thoughts.

The aristocrat stood tall and proud. And although he was still only wearing his pale blue sleep yakuta, his presence held a level of intimidation that cannot be ignored. The fact that he was still wearing his sleepwear also told the Shihoin Heiress that he had been 'spying' on her ever since she had snuck onto the noble's estate.

His sharp slate-grey eyes just stared at her impassively. There was no hint of disdain or disappointment in his eyes. As usual there was no hint of any emotions. _The perfect Kuchiki Heir_. Yoruichi sadly thought of her old childhood friend. His long black hair, which held highlights of blue in the torchlight fires, laid about his shoulder, nearly obscuring his handsome and yet stoic face.

"Byakuya-chan." She greeted in a tight teasing tone, not her usually jester-like chirps.

Kuchiki Byakuya, the current Head of the Kuchiki Clan and the Captain of the Sixth Squad of the Gotei 13, tilted his head to the side but only slightly. The only visible cue that he was surprised by the tight tease.

"What could cause Flash Master Yoruichi to lower her defenses and dull her senses in an act so similar to that of a lowly Rukon thug?" The raven-haired Captain's monotone voice echoed loudly within the silent cavern as if he was shouting at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly a low and dangerous growl echoed throughout the cavern as Yoruichi resembled more and more like her feline form. Her fangs bared in anger while her eyes narrowed. _How dare he question me as if he did not know?_ She hissed.

How could he or the Gotei 13 not know of the tragedy that had occurred only hours ago in Karakura Town? After all, was there not a Shinigami patrolling Karakura Town ever since Rukia had been forced to return to Soul Society? And did they not give _her student_ the Substitute Badge as means to keep an eye on him?

"As if you didn't know!" She snapped.

She knew that it was reckless of her to yell at her former playmate, but the emotional upheaval from the past twenty-four hours had finally taken its toll on her… watching helplessly as her friend, Isshin, worked himself to exhaustion and into a near panic attack because his son was still missing… feeling the same near panic herself when she witnessed her blonde playmate and friend, Kisuke, breaking Taboo in order to save lives dying from the Black Iris poison. And there stood the Captain of the Shinigami who replaced Rukia _in his sleepwear_, looking unbothered by the number of deaths… no, not deaths but the murders of over a hundred of students and teachers of Ichigo's school.

"How dare you!" She growled out, "Where were you when Karakura High was attacked? Why didn't you come to help? You could have helped! We would not have lost so many!"

Slate-grey eyes blinked in surprise at the Assassin's outburst before narrowing once more. He did not like being accused of cowardice. True, his one-time friend had not outright called him such, but Byakuya still heard the unspoken word in her tone.

"I do not know of any attacks on the Ryoka-boy's school." The Kuchiki Heir coolly replied. An elegant brow arched when the Shihoin Heiress growled even louder, "And I can assure you if there had been an attack of such magnitude that you are suggesting, we the Gotei 13 would not be sitting idly by."

The Great Hall of Records suddenly echoed with a dark, harsh laugh verging on being hysterical, which unnerved the nobleman.

"The Gotei 13 are too quick to judge but too slow to act." Yoruichi bitterly replied as past actions came to her mind. "But of course, you won't believe me, will you?"

Byakuya did not answer. There was no reason to. He _did_ believe her, but he was the 'perfect' nobleman. He had seen the Gotei 13's quick and flawed judgment, and he had seen their slow response. However, it was not his place to question the orders of his superior, the Captain-Commander. As a Kuchiki, he must uphold the laws and traditions of the Seireitei.

"And what," The raven-haired man breathed deeply, "has happened to cause such an irrational outburst and behavior?"

"Weren't you listening?" She hissed, "Someone attacked Ichigo's school!"

"The Human World is filled with many dangers, including that of the religious fanatics and their self-proclaimed righteous leaders." The Captain dismissively stated.

Yoruichi gave the arrogant noble a dark and yet sorrowful smile.

"What Human terrorist can get their hands on the Black Iris poison?"

The Kuchiki Heir paused as he stared in disbelief at the Assassin. He was completely aware of the poison's unique properties. It was after all the same poison that had killed his wife fifty years ago. A member from one of the Branch Clan was greatly angered that Byakuya had chosen a Rukon-girl as his wife over a noblewoman, who happened to be the member's own sister, and the affronted minor lord had thought that the Clan would be better off under another's leadership, namely his own. However, the would-be-assassin failed in assassinating the raven-haired noble and had instead murdered his dear Hisana.

The poison fed on one's reishi, and regardless of what other Shinigami and aristocrats may say, _**all**_souls have some levels of reishi. As the poison devoured the victim's reishi, it would leave behind an empty shell of what was once a living being and without that reishi, the victim's body would crumble away like dust in the wind, leaving behind a single black iris flower.

The same flower which was born from Hisana's ash that Byakuya kept within her shrine.

"Are you certain?" His voice was soft, barely hiding his emotions of pain and sadness.

"Yes."


	7. Chapter 7

_**~Chapter 6~**_

_**Johan Boehner's Laboratory, Ichigo's Cell**_

Ichigo could feel his awareness slowly returning him to the land of wakefulness. Despite his desire to remain in the darkness of his mind, the tawny-haired youth knew that he had best face his newest nightmare head-on. Faintly in the background, the high school student could hear his white reflection snorting and muttering something about him being pig-headed. The Shinigami just ignored him pale partner.

Suddenly he sensed something was different about his little cell… As if he was not alone.

_*Shit! Bastard #1!*_ Ichigo's albinic shadow hissed in exclamation, causing a pair of ocher gems to snap open.

Looming over the teen was Bastard #1; however, he was nothing what the tawny-haired Shinigami had ever seen, not even among Hollows. Instantly the lithe youth scrambled off his mattress and moved far away as he could from the strange creature in front of him. Bastard #1 easily stood a head and a half taller than the young Shinigami. He wore only a pair of tattered hospital-style bottoms, exposing his heavily muscled chest. His arms were thick with muscles, but his left hand was misshapen by the fact that his middle and ring fingers were fused together and curled into itself. At first glance, the fused fingers also looked a bit hoofed. And it was not just his left hand that was misshapen, but Bastard #1's face as well.

Bastard #1's lower jaw was disproportionately larger than his entire face and was protruding forward in a strong under-bit. His nose was upturned and then flatten against his blocky face. His brown eyes stared blankly at Ichigo's now empty mattress before finally landing on the young man. The tawny-haired teen had to suppress a shiver threatening to course through him as Bastard #1's dull, lifelessness gaze landed on the youth. The Shinigami was sickened by a memory of a dead fish that he had once dissected in Biology class. And while the high school student attempted to push the memory away, he also noted at how Bastard #1's face seemed to droop on the left side. _Did he suffer from a stroke?_

_*Odd thin' tah think abou', especially since 'e ain't alone!*_ His Hollow hissed, drawing the teen's attention to the other person in his cell.

Standing at the doorway was a thin man, wearing the traditional white lab coat of a scientist.

_*Is that Prick #1?*_

_*Nah, tha' no' 'im… dunno who 'e 's.*_

"You have two options, Experiment 4215." The thin man said in an annoyingly high pitched voice.

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, Prick #2!" The teen growled but keeping an eye on Bastard #1.

His Hollow snickered at the nickname.

Prick #2's nostrils flared open while his cheeks turned a bright shade of pink.

"You! Insolent bastard!" Prick #2's voice reached new pitches, causing Ichigo to wince in pain, "You'll learn who your superior is!"

Prick #2 pulled out a small little device, no bigger than a car alarm, and pressed a single button.

Ocher gems grew wide as a silent scream remained lodged in his throat, and his entire body felt as if it was on fire and yet his hands involuntarily twitched in concert to the painful pulse coursing through him. He could not move, could not breath and could not think beyond the pain.

_*Aibou!*_

Prick #2 released the button.

Ichigo felt his body crumble onto the floor as he gasped hungrily for air.

"3-1-2, picked this trash up and take it to Training Room 24!"

Bastard #1 grunted and effortlessly picked up the barely conscious teen.

_*Jes' ya wai', ya bastard! Ah'll kill ya!*_ The moon-white demon shouted loudly within Ichigo's mindscape, causing the teen to quietly groan at the slow growing headache. However, the pale doppelganger did not hear his partner's discomfort and continued on his rants and threats of promising pain.

_*Shuddup…*_ Ichigo groaned.

_*Nah! Ah gonna kill tha' bastard! All of 'em! Startin' wit' 'im! Let me out!*_ The white mirror shouted.

_*SHIRO!*_ The tawny-haired teen shouted back, effectively silencing his inner reflection.

Suddenly 3-1-2 grunted, and the young Shinigami felt himself drop. Immediately, the young man righted himself, landing on his feet as he instinctively placed enough space between himself and the misshapen minotaur. In less than a blink of an eye, the tawny-haired teen took in the so-called Training Room 24.

It was a circular room with a high, gray dome and in the center of the dome-ceiling was an observation deck of some sort. The Shinigami could vaguely make out figures within the observation deck, and he also noted that the ceiling dome seem to be perforated with tiny holes.

Bastard #1 suddenly and yet slowly turned around, exposing his back to Ichigo, making the teen wonder if the deformed man-bull either did not know or did not care at the potential threat that the tawny-haired youth posed. But it was then that the young man realized that Bastard #1 was leaving. Without a second thought, the Shinigami lunged forward in hopes to try again at escaping his captivity but instead he slammed straight into the wall as the door closed shut. He let out a low growl and punched the sturdy surface.

"Dammit!"

_*Aibou…*_ The white shade's voice was soft and quiet, causing ocher eyes to blink at the unusual tone of his darker partner.

_*Yeah?*_

_*Wha' did ya call me?*_

_*Uhm…*_ Ichigo fought against a blush in embarrassment, _*Shiro…?*_

A strange silence fell within the teen's mind, causing him to fidget and begin to walk along the wall to hide his nervousness.

_*Shiro?*_ His Hollow repeated evenly.

_*Uhm… yeah… you know…*_ The Shinigami trailed off then suddenly tensed as he heard and sensed something in the air.

_*Wha' was tha'?*_ The white reflection whispered as he too heard and sensed the something in the air.

_*Dunno…*_ Ichigo replied as he took a tentative step forward.

The teen felt and heard the strange something in air again. It sounded like a faint whistle as if something small, moving very fast, was cutting through the air. The tawny-haired youth heard and felt the strangeness for a third and fourth time before he realized that he was surrounded by the oddity. Ichigo remained absolutely still when suddenly his sixth sense, his warrior instinct, screamed at him. He took a quick step to the side…

He suddenly let out a hiss as he felt a sharp sting across his cheek. Immediately a hand went to his cheek. His ocher eyes grew wide when he felt something moist and wet against his fingertips. Looking at his fingers, Ichigo stared in confusion at the sight of his blood on his hand.

_What the hell?_ The teen thought; however, he did not have the luxury to wonder further when he felt the dangers around him increase.

At the moment, Ichigo only reacted. His body instinctively knew when and where the attack was coming from and effortlessly dodged each and every one of the attack. All sense of time disappeared.

Was he at this sadistic game of his captor's for a few minutes or a few hours? The teen did not know nor acknowledged. He knew that the moment he began to think about it, he would stumble and it would be the end of him and of his darker half.

_**#15#**_

"Remarkable." Grunted a technician at the Observation Deck's controls, "Experiment 4215 has been avoiding the senbon attacks for the pass ten minutes with no signs of fatigue…. The Master truly knows how to pick them."

"Yes, well, we are not here to see how well Experiment 4215 can avoid the attacks at Level 1." A high-pitched nasally voice replied haughtily, "Increase to Level 4."

"Sir?" The technician questioned.

The Observation Deck echoed with flesh slapping against flesh.

"Level 4! Now!"

"Yes, sir." The technician whispered as he obeyed his superior.

_**#15#**_

_Shit!_ Ichigo mentally hissed as he felt the air around him sing in a rapid series of faint whistles.

The young Shinigami continued to dodge the increased attacks but barely. His flesh stung as the sharp objects grazed him. And it was getting more and more difficult to avoid the attacks. He did not know how much longer he could last before he became seriously injured.

_*Ya knah ah can help…*_ His reflection whispered quietly and gently so as not to break the teen's concentration.

_*No.*_ The tawny-haired teen replied back as he dodged the attacks.

His doppelganger let out a low growl.

_*Why not? Ah can help!*_ He insisted.

_*If they find out about you…*_ The teen trailed off. For a brief moment, his fear and concern for his other self overcame his senses.

"Ah!"

_*Aibou!*_

Ichigo dropped to the ground. He had failed to sense the attack and lodged deep into his thigh was a senbon, a metal throwing needle used by ninjas of old. Ocher gems grew wide when he sensed and heard more of the attack descending on him, and he had no way to protect himself. Curling into himself, making himself a smaller target, the Shinigami closed his eyes and waited for the pain when he felt a sudden warm embrace.

_*AIBOU!*_

_*S'rry… Shiro…*_

For a heavy moment, all time ceased before it was shattered.

_*YA IDIOT!*_ Ichigo's Hollow bellowed then not-so-gently-gently kicked the tawny-haired teen, who immediately shot to his feet and looked about.

They were in his mindscape, his mental world filled with sideways buildings.

_*What the hell?*_ The teen snapped as he looked at his demonic partner, _*Why the hell did you bring me here?*_

_*Tah save yer s'rry ass!*_

_*Save me? You left us defenseless!*_

_*Defenseless? Aftah the stun' ya pulled?*_

_*Stunt? What stunt? _You_ dragged me in here!*_

_*Wha' stun'? Wha' stun'? Ah talkin' abou' tha' stupid Kido ya did 'fore 'ey stopped an' 'fore ah dragged ya in 'ere!*_

_*_Kido?_ Me? Do a _Kido_? That's rich! You know that I can't do Kido to save my life!*_ Ichigo shouted back.

_*Well, appa'ntly ya did! Ya idiot!*_

The tawny-haired teen shook his head.

_*Just shut up, Shiro!*_

Golden-amber orbs blinked as the fear-induced anger slowly faded from the pale reflection's face.

_*Tha' the fourth time ya called me tha'.*_ The white mirror quietly stated.

Ichigo found himself fighting another embarrassing blush.

_*__Well yeah…*_ The teen mumbled defensively, _*You know it's short for Shirosaki…*_

*_Shirosaki?*_ The pale shade repeated with a look of pure disbelief, _*Shirosaki?*_

The Shinigami nodded again with a weak, sheepish grin.

_*Ya go' tah be kiddin' me!*_ He quipped back but was also sporting a faint blush, _*Ya suck a' namin' thin's.*_

_*Hey! What's wrong with Shirosaki?*_ The tawny-haired teen demanded as he placed his fist on his hips.

_*It a play on yer name, _Kuro_saki. Tha's wha' wron' wit' it! An' _Shiro_? Really? Callin' me white or whitey 'cauz ma white hair? It like me callin' ya _daidaiiro_ or _ee-chigo_ 'cauz yer tawny hair!*_

Ichigo blushed again, in embarrassment and anger, as he crossed his arms and was _not_ pouting.

_*Nah wonder ya have Tatsuki name all of yer paintin's.*_

_*SHIRO!*_ The Shinigami yelped in surprise.

*_Wha'?*_ The moon-white shadow, acknowledging his new nickname, replied in faux innocence.

_*You! You!*_ The teen sputtered, too shock that his inner darkness knew about his must hidden secret. It was a secret he kept closely guarded even from his friends and family. Tatsuki only knew because she had caught him painting one day.

_*Fine! Let's see you come up with something better, _Shiro._* _The teen stressed the nickname as he stormed off to his little 'corner' of his mindscape and began to sulk.

_*Fine! Ah will! An' it'll be better than jes' Shirosaki, ee-chi-go!*_ Shiro shouted back as he too stormed off to his own little corner of the mindscape.

_*It's Ichigo! Not ee-chi-go!*_

From above, a deep but quiet chuckle echoed as Zangetsu watched over his two charges squabble like children.

_*SHUDDUP!*_ The twins of Light and Dark shouted in unison before glaring at one another and turning away to sulk.


	8. Chapter 8

_**~Chapter 7~**_

_**Emergency Captain's Meeting, Seireitei**_

"Kuchiki-taichou, what is the meaning of this?" Demanded an ancient voice as the speaker seated himself down on his throne.

Kuchiki Byakuya stood in the center of the gathered remaining ten Captains of the Gotei 13. The Kuchiki nobleman stood tall and proud in his black shihakusho. His white Captain hoari rested proudly on the Shinigami's shoulders with the kanji of his Squadron's number boldly emblazed on his back and wrapped elegantly around the Sixth Captain's neck was a beautiful silken white scarf. Weaved into his long, raven-black locks were the keisenkans, ivory-bone hair ornaments that indicated his status as a nobleman.

Byakuya did not hide the fact that he held from one of the Four Great Noble Houses.

A barely visible frown marred the noble's pale complexioned face when he noted that the three Lieutenants from Squads Three, Five and Nine were not present.

As law mandated, if a Captain of a Squad could not be present in an emergency Captain's Meeting then their Seconds, or more commonly known as Lieutenants, must stand in the absent Captain's stead. However, the Captains of Squad 3, 5 and 9 were not just absent. They were traitors. They had conspired against the Seireitei and allied themselves with the Shinigami's enemies, the Hollows. Their defections left their position open until new Captains can be appointed. And until then, the Squad's respective Lieutenants must fill-in the duties of the Captain position.

"Kuchiki-taichou!" The ancient voice bellowed, drawing everyone's attention to the fact that Byakuya had not immediately answered.

"Where are Lieutenants Kira, Hinamori and Hisagi?" The Kuchiki Heir instead asked.

This caused the other Captains to either murmur or look at the young nobleman in curiosity.

"I precluded their presence." The ancient man on the throne dismissively stated.

"On what grounds?"

Silence filled the audience hall. No one in their long memory, excluding the three Captains' defection and alliance to the Hollows, had anyone ever challenged the decision of the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni. The ancient Shinigami's reddish-ocher eyes narrowed on the younger Captain.

"On what grounds?" Yamamoto repeated, "On the grounds that we do not investigate mass death caused by Human hands. I have read your reports, and by your own Squad member's statement, the recent attack at Karakura was of Human design."

"What? Karakura was attacked? When?" Several of the Captains gasped in surprise while others looked unimpressed.

"Human design?" The Sixth Captain quietly repeated with a more visible frown. "It is speculated that a number of those deaths was caused by reishi depletion, hardly Human design."

The audience hall echoed with a loud gasp in horror. Even those who were unmoved by the attack on the Human town were troubled by the news.

"How did you come to that speculation when your own Squad member gave no comment of it? And where is your evidence?" The Captain-Commander questioned, causing Byakuya to hesitate.

The Squad member in question, Kurumadani Zennosuke, was an Unseated member of the Sixth Squad. He was sent to Karakura Town as a replacement for Kuchiki Rukia when she was arrested for breaking Taboo, infusing a human with Shinigami reishi. Kurumadani was not Kuchiki's first choice to replace his sister in the Human World, but the lazy fool was the only one available to be sent. In all honesty, if Byakuya had his way, he would have expelled the Unseated fool from his Squad and from the Gotei 13 entirely.

Kurumadani had a record of taking the easiest way, the easiest approach and often the first explanation regardless of what the evidence proved. The 6th Captain was not surprised that the Unseated would assume that it was Human terrorists, who had attacked Karakura. After all, the Human World was currently plagued by ignorant religious zealots, who manipulated their followers into doing their bidding.

Byakuya was not too concerned with the credibility of the Unseated's statement. With enough evidence, Kurumadani's statement could easily be disregarded. Evidence that the 6th Captain wanted the Gotei 13 to appoint someone to collect. The Kuchiki nobleman wanted to have Hitsugaya-taichou to lead the investigation since the petite Captain of Squad Ten had no ties to Kurosaki or to Karakura and would be the most objective in his investigation.

In his report that he had forward to the Captain-Commander, Byakuya had also left out the fact that his old childhood playmate had broken into the Great Hall of Records, a crime punishable either by imprisonment or exile. The 6th Captain only reported that a source had contacted him in concern of the unusual number of deaths at Karakura in a short amount of time, which even Byakuya found disconcerting that no alarm been raised before Yoruichi's arrival.

While the Gotei 13 were well aware that the exiled former Twelfth Captain Urahara Kisuke lived in Karakura, they chose to ignore him, considering any information the exiled Shinigami may possess as inconsequential to their way of life.

"My information comes from a credible source." The Kuchiki Head of Clan stated, confident that the banished 12th Captain would not falsify any report in regards to the safety and welfare of the young Ryoka-boy he seemed to hold some sort affection for.

Yamamoto snorted as he leaned back into his throne.

"You mean the traitor Urahara."

"He conducted an analysis on the victims' blood and found a number of victims have died from reishi depletion due to Black Iris poisoning." The raven-haired Captain stated, neither confirming nor denying his source, "For such a thing to occur, an otherworldly hand is involved."

"I agree." A calm voice cried out from the gather Captains.

From the corner of his slate-grey eyes, Byakuya could see his colleague and friend, the Thirteenth Captain Ukitake Jushiro. It was rare to see the silver-haired Captain in good health.

Ukitake was one of those rare Shinigami, who possessed powers beyond imagination but also possessed a weak body; however, regardless the 13th Captain's health, Byakuya was just grateful to have another level-headed Shinigami among the gathered ranks.

"Captain-Commander, regardless of Urahara status among us, if he possess information and has evidence that the Humans have died from reishi depletion… or even if he suspects it that _is_ grounds for great concern." Ukitake stated, causing a few other Captains to nod their heads in agreement.

"Yeah, especially since the Second Squad was suppose to destroy their supply of the Black Iris poison." A rough and gravely voice openly stated, not bothering with concealing his accusation.

"What was that, Rukon-scum?" Screamed a small-framed female Captain of Squad Two as she turned towards the towering, muscled Captain with a feral and challenging grin.

"Now, now, Sui-Feng…" Drawled an easy-going voice as a long and wavy-haired brunette casually waved his hand in passive dismissing manner, "I'm sure Kenpachi meant nothing by it… right?"

Captain Kyoraku Shunsui of the Eighth Squad then gave Zaraki Kenpachi a pointed look to which the Eleventh Captain just shrugged, not caring either way.

"Whatever." The battle-loving Shinigami remarked before a frown marred his scarred face. His single black eye narrowed on the still nobleman. "What of Ichigo?"

This caught everyone's attention. They all were aware that the Ryoka-boy came from Karakura and was extremely protective of his town. While some objected to giving the Ryoka-boy the honored title of Substitute Soul Reaper, they all knew that the Human would not just idly stand by and let something like the attack happen.

"What does Ichigo have to say about this?" Kenpachi demanded once again when the 6th Captain did not immediately answer.

"I do not know." The Kuchiki nobleman hesitantly replied.

"Then there is nothing to be concern of!" Yamamoto immediately snapped.

"He is among the missing." Byakuya continued as if the First Captain had not said a word.

Another wave of heavy silence fell over the audience hall.

"What do you mean 'he is among the missing'?" The 11th Captain growled menacingly as he took a threatening step forward.

Byakuya took a deep breath and began relaying the events that happened in the past 24 hours as it was explained to him by his childhood friend.

_**#15#**_

"This is Aizen's doing!" Bellowed the Ookami Captain of the Seventh Squad.

"I agree!" Sui-Feng shrieked then turned to her leader, "Give me the word, Captain-Commander, and me and my men will destroy that traitor!"

Even Kenpachi bellowed out his desire to join the battle against the Seireitei's enemies.

Byakuya had to close his eyes and take in a deep breath as he began to feel the beginnings of a growing headache. And while the audience hall echoed with the Captains shouting at each other and over each other on the best of course of action, the only words echoing in the Sixth Captain's mind were Yoruichi's words. _The Gotei 13 are too quick to judge but too slow to act._ Those words held an ominous truth that the Kuchiki Head of Clan feared that he would have to take the matter into his own hands.

He would have to go against the Captain-Commander.

Suddenly the audience hall echoed as Yamamoto slammed his staff-disguised zanpaku-to against the wooden flooring, effectively silencing the shouting Captains. All eyes rested on their ancient leader.

"Before we can act, we must confirm whether or not this attack was perpetrated by Aizen." The 1st Captain stated.

The proclamation awoken a low murmur, but for the most part, the audience hall remained quiet.

"Mayuri," Yamamoto called forth the current 12th Captain and Head of Research and Development Department, "I want you to review Urahara's so-called notes and report back to me of your findings. Then and only then will we act. You are dismissed!" The Captain-Commander decreed, not giving anyone a chance to protest against the 1st Captain's choice of lead investigator.

Byakuya immediately turned on his heel and walked out of the audience hall. He kept in mind to keep his steps steady, lest he tipped his hand and reveal the fact that he was in a hurry.

After all, a nobleman was never in a hurry, especially a Kuchiki. As soon as he stepped out of the audience hall, the 6th Captain was immediately joined by his Second-in-Command, Lieutenant Arabi Renji. The usually boisterous redhead remained quiet as he followed the raven-haired aristocrat.

It was not until they were beyond the Inner Walls did the pair shunpo, flash-step, back to the Kuchiki Compound.

Renji was unusually quiet as he sensed his Captain's troubled state. The young Aboriginal never questioned his Captain when the nobleman woke the redhead earlier that morning and had him summon the other Captains for the emergency meeting.

Most would never expect it nor see it in the Kuchiki Head of Clan, but the tattooed warrior could see it as plain as day that his Captain was in a state of uncertainty and anxiety. The fiery-redhead Lieutenant could see it as the raven-haired Shinigami tightly clenched his jaw and the subtle fisting of his hands. The last time the loyal Second-in-Command had seen his Commander in such a state was when they had received the orders to arrest Rukia for treason, and Renji knew for a fact that the petite raven-haired girl was safe and sound back at the 13th Squad Barracks. At least, she had been last night when he and she took their former classmate, Kira, out for drinks so this state of uncertainty and anxiety was not caused by Rukia.

Once the pair safely reached the Kuchiki Compound, Byakuya immediately went to the inner most halls, which housed the members of the main clan. Renji paused for a moment when he realized that his Captain had not given him his leave. Hesitantly, the Aboriginal followed the nobleman further into the Kuchiki Compound. Despite his desire to take in the elegance of the compound, Renji kept his eyes forward and faithfully followed.

"Byakuya-chan!"

"Ach! Yoruichi-san!" The redhead gasped in surprise.

The Lieutenant knew all too well that the Shihoin Heiress was the only person alive to have the gall to call his Captain in such a familiar manner and live. But it still surprised the tattooed warrior to hear it, and he was also surprised to even see her in his Captain's home. _Why is Kuchiki-taichou was keeping her presence a secret?_ It was then that Renji noticed the deeply etched worry on the Assassin's face. He looked at the two Head of Clans, realizing that something was _seriously _wrong.

"Renji…" Byakuya's calm voice cut through the redhead's thoughts, "I am authorizing your vacation request to the Human World."

"Hunh?" The Lieutenant blinked in confusion.

Yoruichi's lips became thin as she immediately understood what had happened. The Captain-Commander had dismissed the attack on Karakura High. The Shihoin Heiress took a deep breath, understanding that her childhood playmate would help even if he would have to do it underhandedly.

"Thank you, Byakuya."

An elegant brow arched as he coolly looked at the purple-tinted raven-haired female.

"I do not know what you are talking about." He clearly stated, "My Lieutenant has been complaining for a vacation, and the Human World is a good place for him to rest and relax."

"Hunh? Wha -?" The Lieutenant yelped while fighting a light blush at his Captain's statement as Kuchiki-taichou turned and left, leaving the redhead alone with Yoruichi.

"C'mon, I'll explain everything on the way." She said as she pulled the Aboriginal along with her.


	9. Chapter 9

_**~Chapter 8~**_

_**Johan Boehner's Laboratory, Ichigo's Mindscape**_

He entered the laboratory much like a king entering his castle and all of his subjects bowing or groveling before him. However, instead of subjects, he had minions, underlings, who were all loyal to only him. Not that he really cared much about the loyalty as long as his minions did nothing to disrupt or hinder his research; they were free to do as they pleased. His research was all the mattered to him, and if any of them threatened his research, regardless of how long his underling worked for him, he would kill them at best… at worst, he would use _them_ as research subjects.

"Please, Master, forgive me!" The nasally voiced scientist beseeched as he groveled at his Master's feet.

Master Johan Boehner only kicked at the groveling scientist out of his way as the Master stormed toward his favorite scientist.

"What happened?" Master Boehner demanded.

"It would seem, Master," His favorite scientist, Mikahnalee Miitchu, replied with a faint hint of his native language accenting his words, "that Ryen Kantour was overzealous in his testing of Experiment 4215's reflexes and precognitive senses in a life threatening setting."

This caused Master Boehner to narrow his eyes on his groveling minion, who only squirmed closer to the ground.

"And what of Experiment 4215?" He hissed.

"Going for his third serious of treatment." Miitchu stated as he magically pulled a file out of nowhere and began reading the report, "It would seem that his body is accepting the DNA re-sequencing, permanently rather than having his body rejecting it. We can then begin the gene grafting. I have already a series of samples for you to examine and give your approval."

"Good. Good."

"He faired remarkably well in Training Room 24."

"No surprise, considering the data I had already collected." Master Boehner remarked dismissively.

"Of course, Master, only the absolute best of test subjects." Miitchu praised, "I believe you will be most pleased by an unexpected outcome of Kantour's zealous."

"Oh?" Master Boehner remarked rather unimpressed as he was handed the report.

"Yes, Master, Kantour increased the level from 1 to 4 after ten minutes of Experiment 4215 showed no sign of fatigue. Experiment 4215 managed to last 5.3625 minutes before becoming injured. It would seem that we would have lost all of that research when suddenly all projectiles were deflected."

"Deflected?"

"Yes, we picked up an energy signature."

"All reports indicated that he did not possess Casting-abilities."

"The reports are correct. This energy signature did not match those of previous test subjects, save for one."

"Tenshi Energy Signature!" Master Boehner squealed when he read the paragraph of the Training Room 24 read-outs. "A Tennyo!"

"Yes, Master!" Miitchu too cheered.

"Of course, that would explain so much!" He gasped in real surprise, "As a celestial being, or at least a son of a celestial being, his Spiritron readings would be three times as much as a Gifted. It would also explain how he managed to recover his powers after reports indicated that they were destroyed… Ah! But that would mean his body would reject the grafting from a Minus. Well, no matter, as a Tennyo, his body would accept the other grafting easily enough and combined with his skills that would make him a formidable weapon in the upcoming war."

"And if we can awaken more of his Tenshi abilities, Experiment 4215 would be more than a match against any Minus."

"How true, how true…" Master Boehner remarked then ordered, "Continue with the inoculations and immediately proceed to the grafting. We must also bring out the Tenshi powers."

"As you command, Master."

_**#15#**_

Ichigo looked about his mind world and knew that his captors were injecting him with more of that stuff, just by looking at the damage being caused. It made him worry that whatever they were doing to him would affect him on the most basic level of who he was. He may not be an expert on mind worlds and mindscapes, but he knew the basics. The world of one's mind reflected not only their personality but also their beliefs, their hopes, their dreams, everything that makes an individual unique. And seeing the damage being done, it made the tawny-haired teen worry if he would make it out of here whole.

Light brown eyes stared at a single crack that appeared on the glass window of his sideway world. He absently wondered how many more cracks have appeared since his captivity, and how deep they ran. As he continued his dark musings, he was unaware of dark clouds that began to form beyond the horizons.

And then suddenly…

THWACK!

"Ahk!" Ichigo gapped as he clutched his head.

Angry crimson-brown glared at the white waraji, a shoe made from straw rope, that seemed to lay not-so-innocently next to him. Snapping around, the young Shinigami leveled his ocher gems on his albinic twin, who was standing on his side of the mindscape with his hands on his hip and missing a waraji.

_*What the hell was that for?*_ The teen snapped as he picked up the white waraji and tossed it back at his white mirror.

_*Tha' tah keep ya from makin' it rain! Ah hate the rain!*_ Shiro snapped as he easily caught his waraji then began to re-shoe his foot, _*Plus, ah came up wit' mah name!*_

Ichigo wrinkled his nose in confusion at Shiro's comment about the rain, but he decided that was for another time. Beside he was curious as to what sort of name his darker half had come up with.

_*Okay.*_

_*An' it way better than_ Shirosaki_!*_ Shiro remarked in a tone that spoke of childish pride.

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he waited for his partner to tell him his name.

_*C'mon Shiro…*_

_*Hol' yer horses, daidaiiro…*_ Shiro waved his hand dismissively.

The Shinigami felt his eyebrow twitch at the strange nickname.

_*Mah name's Shirosaki Loki!*_ Loki stated proudly with his usual feral grin.

*_Waitaminute! Earlier you were complaining about 'Shirosaki'! And where the hell did you come up with 'Loki'?*_ The tawny-haired teen pointed accusingly.

*_Ah am He Who Brings The End In White Blossoms.*_ Shiro purred.

Ocher gems blinked once then twice before groaning in disbelief.

_*Great!*_ The teen rubbed his face, _*My Hollow is a friggin' poet!* _He then leveled a curious scowl on his moon white partner, _*And where did you come up with 'Loki'?*_

Molten gold orbs rolled heavenward in annoyance.

_*O'course, ah like poetry.*_ Shiro replied in a tone daring his Aibou to challenge him, _*An' since ya wanna knah… ah go' the name from tha'.*_

The teen Hollow thumbed behind him just as a square canvas emerged from a glass window, causing the Shinigami's eyes to grow wide. Ichigo immediately recognized the beautiful ink and water colored painting.

It was the painting he had done while recovering from Byakuya's attack. He did not know why he had done this particular piece, but at the moment, it felt right. The painting's main focus was a pale and slender figure in full traditional Viking Garb. The pale Viking was in the midst of a battle, surrounded by other Vikings and Demons all of whom were attacking the lone pale figure. And although the Viking was outnumbered, injured and bloodied, Ichigo had painted him with a gleeful smile. As if the pale warrior was happy and feeling very much alive despite the obvious contrary.

It was also the only piece that Ichigo actually tilted himself. The young Shinigami had tilted his painting _"Loki Unleash Ragnarok"_.

_*That's mine!*_ Ichigo exclaimed, not too sure how he felt about his partner naming himself after that particular painting.

_*Nah it aien't.*_ Loki stated as he looked at the painting then back at his Aibou.

_*What do you mean it's not mine? I painted it!*_

_*So? It on mah side tha' mean it mine.*_

_*Your side?*_

_*Yeah,*_ Shiro stated as he flopped down onto the sideway building, _*haven' ya noticed?*_

The teen paused as his eyes narrowed for a moment before joining his soul twin on the building.

_*What haven't I noticed?*_ The teen honestly asked.

_*Tha' whenever we go our separate ways. Ya always go tah the righ' an' ah always go tah the lef'.*_

Ichigo's brow furrowed together.

_*Hunh, you're right.*_ The teen replied as he rested his chin in his hand.

_*O'course ah'm righ'! Ah'm always righ'!*_

This caused the Shinigami to roll his eyes. From the corner of his eye, the tawny-haired teen just watched his partner. _Shirosaki Loki…_ The youth thought, _He Who Brings The End In White Blossoms… it kinda suits him… White Blossoms are beautiful, but they can ensnare the senses, slowly killing you or slowly driving you mad… yeah, that's Shiro alright… he'll drive you insane or kill you, but he's still… beau-…_ Ichigo immediately stopped his thought. He did not just think that his darker half was beautiful.

_*Whacha blushin' fer?*_ Shiro suddenly asked as his gold-on-black eyes narrowed suspiciously.

_*Nothing!*_ Ichigo responded too quickly, and before the white doppelganger could call on his Aibou, the tawny-haired suddenly blurted out, _*Since you always seem to take this side of the mindscape, it's yours.*_

*_Wha'?*_ The proclamation distracted the pale reflection. _*Yer jokin', righ'!*_

Ichigo looked at his partner curiously, not certain why Shiro would be so surprised. It was he who had pointed out that they would always go to a proverbial side or another. So why not give his dark half his own space?

Loki just blinked. _Doesn' he understand wha' tha' mean? Givin' me mah own mind space… Firs', mah own name an' now mah own mind space…_

*_Can ah make it like 'ow ah like it?*_ The albino asked. His voice small and almost childlike, causing Ichigo to look at his partner with a particular expression that the white mirror could not identify but have seen a few times before.

_*I don't see why not. It's your… room for the lack of a better term.*_ The tawny-haired teen replied with a shrug, ignoring Shiro shaking his head.

Loki could not believe it. His Aibou truly did not understand what he was doing, but in all reality, the Hollow did not care. As long as it gave him the strength that he would be needing to protect his King.

_*Than's…*_ Loki whispered lightly with his usual feral grin.

_**Stay tuned for the next installment of Bleach - A Breed Apart come December 1, 2012.**_

* * *

_**Also I have closed the polls and have come up with my evil scientist, the junk DNA, Ichigo's rescuers, and if you have not guessed, I have also came up with Ichigo's Hollow's name (Shirosaki Loki - He Who Brings The End In White Blossoms). I'll bring in the poll-results into my piece as it progresses. I want to thank you for all your help! And have a Happy Holidays! **_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Previously on Bleach - A Breed Apart, Gotei 13 assigned the 12**__**th**__** Captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, to investigate the attack on Karakura High to determine if otherworldly hands were involved or if by human hands. Meanwhile, Ichigo and his Hollow, Shirosaki Loki, begin to form a bond to help them survive the torture at the hands of this mysterious Johan Boehner. Will the pair be rescued in time or will they break under the hands of their enemy?**_

_**~Chapter 9~**_

_**Ichigo's Mindscape, Johan Boehner's Laboratory**_

He was exhausted. His body ached from the pain… both physical and emotional… he had lost track of time since coming to this Hell… the minutes, hours and days blurred together, making time inconsequential. Had he been there for a few days, a few weeks, a few months, a year? He did not know… everything blurred together… even the torture that They put his body through seemed to blur together… and the torture that They put his soul through…

With each new day… or was it each new hour?… They would drag him out of his clear cell and conduct their experiments then give him a few hours… or was it a few days?… to recover before throwing him into what he had begun to call the Pit.

In the Pit, he would have to fight the Others. At first, he tried to plead with them… make them see that they did not have to fight one another… that they were stronger than their captors but… once he saw the wild, desperate and broken glaze in the Others' eyes… he knew that They had probably promised the Others some sort lie of freedom if they managed to kill him… he knew that They were doing all of this for a reason… whatever that reason was, he did not care… and he was not going to let Them win… he continued to fight… he defeated the Others that would try to kill him… and then he would find solace in the one thing that he had once before been told not to… he found a safe place to cry in the arms of his Shadow…

Every night… or was it day?… his beautiful white reflection would pull him into his arms, giving him the support he needed to… to just cry… he held onto his demon and poured out his heart and soul in the tears that he shed… and the white mirror would just hold him, no nonsense mutterings, no words of kindness… just the albino and him, holding onto each other as their very lives and sanity depended on it, and it did…

After while, he would calm down and looked to see where they were. He could tell by where within their joined mindscapes on how bad everything was… if the physical pain was too much, they would huddle and curl around each other in the center of his mindscape. Which he found it ironic that in his mind world of sideways skyscrapers, his center was a simple little cottage that was right-side up, hidden and reminded him of the home of his favorite unlikely hero, Bilbo Baggins…

Or when the emotional pain was too much, they would be in his shade's center, which reminded him of the Hometree from that movie with the giant alien blue cat-people. However, the albino's mind world was not all about nature… no, it was a beautiful blend of chaos… the human world was all about symmetry, and nature was about… nature. The white reflection's mindscape was filled with nature's chaos taking over human's symmetric order, and it was beautiful. It kind of reminded him of that American program, _Life After People_, and this wild and untamed mesh of nature and decay suited the albino well.

Of course, the pair did not always hide out in the center of their mindscapes… sometimes they could be found in one of the sideway buildings or even one of the crumbling buildings where a jungle-tree taking root. Their sanctuary varied, but the one constant was each other.

He tightened his hold on his eternal companion and buried his face into the paler male's stomach. At the same time, the shade tightened his own hold in a way that was akin to a lover protecting one another from a nightmare.

A wave of fear and resignation rippled through them as they can sense their time was running short… even in their mindscapes, they kept an awareness about them, an awareness of the world outside of their own inner world… they had learned quickly that it was more harmful if they were caught unaware by Them…

*_Aibou…*_ The albino gently whispered as he caressed a faint discoloration along the teen's spine.

At first the pale doppelganger thought the discoloration was scarring from the numerous injuries that his partner gained from his fights, but on closer inspection, he noticed that the faint discoloration was along the high points of his partner's body… along his cheekbones, his nose, forehead, shoulders, elbows, spine, hips and ankles… and the discoloration was a mix of bronze and tan, blending perfectly together and giving the teen a feral and yet exotic look… even he had the same faint discoloring along his own high points, blending smoothly and naturally with his pale complexion. However, there was a vast difference between his Aibou's discoloring and his own. While his Aibou's discoloring was smooth like his flesh, the shade's own discoloring had a soft leathery feel.

*_Aibou… it's almost time…*_ He whispered.

*_I know, Shiro…*_ The tawny-haired teen whimpered, *_I'm so tired… my body feels so heavy… my eyes and head too… I can close my eyes and never open 'em again… just close 'em and go to sleep forever and never wake up…*_

Loki tightened his hold on Ichigo, not in fear that his Aibou would actually allow himself to slip into Death's domain but in understanding. He knew that the teen was tired, but he also strong. The albino can still see the beautiful, vibrant and _**whole **_Reiraku. _Dey haven' broken 'im… dey never will…_ Loki thought to himself as he nuzzled his face against his partner's.

*_Ya strong, Ichigo… jes' hang-on… please…*_ Shiro quietly whispered, letting his voice crack a bit in worry and frustration… oh, how did he just wanted to take Ichigo's place in the Pit… a few times, he nearly did, but true to his name, Ichigo protected _him_ from Them… he did not hate his partner for doing it, but he hated feeling so helpless when he pulled the tawny-haired teen into their mindscape to heal.

Slowly their mindscape faded as Ichigo's mind returned to the physical world. He can hear footsteps coming closer, and soon after, the ocher-eyed teen can pick up the stench of sweat and death from his approaching captors. Unaware that a low growl began vibrating from the depths of his chest as he watched Prick #3 and Prick #2 came closer. Even since his first attempt to escape, Ichigo had not seen Prick #1, but in all reality, he did not really care about any of Them. They can all die for all he cared.

*_An' dey will… ah promise…*_ Shiro menacingly growled, causing the tawny-haired teen to smirk.

He knew that when a Hollow, especially _his_ Hollow, made a promise, not even death would stop them from fulfilling that promise.

* * *

Ichigo felt himself free-falling into the Pit. Even with the bag over his head, the Substitute Shinigami can recognize the Pit anywhere. It was one of those places that would for all eternity carry the stench of fear, pain and death… not even the scent of blood can mask it. Although blinded, the teen can sense the ground fast approaching.

Drawing his knees to his chest, the young man changed his center of gravity and rotated his body.

He then stretched his lithe frame, subconsciously bringing his arms across his chest.

And with a soft 'thwump', Ichigo landed on his feet and instinctively lunged forward, tackling into a hard body before running blindly to safety.

He was not out of breath.

The teen ripped the bag from his head and threw it at his chasing opponent.

The Other instinctively batted the flying object out of his face, instantly blinding him to Ichigo's next attack.

The tawny-haired teen took one step forward after throwing the bag, lowering his center of gravity once more and lunging at the Other again, tackling him to ground and running to safety.

The young Shinigami had no desire to actually fight the Others. He will… if push came to shove… which unfortunately it always did, but he was not going to give his captors the satisfaction of making him… conditioning him… training him to be some mindless killing machine… if he had to kill, it will be because he had no other choice…

Before the teen had a chance to knock the Other down again, he flipped back to his feet… the move needled at the back of the Substitute Shinigami's mind… he had seen such a move before…

The Other was on top of him in a blink of an eye… a barrage of kicks and punches descended upon the tanned youth… he barely had the time to lift his arms to protect his vulnerable torso and head…

Backstep… backstep… the word echoed in his mind as he slowly began to place some distance between him and the Other.

Backstep… backstep… pivoting around, bringing his left leg around for a round-kick to the Other's back… sending the Other to the ground…

Ichigo lunged at the Other's exposed back… his toned arms snaked around the Other's thick and scaly neck… holding him in a Four-Hold Choke… slowly cutting the air circulation to his brain and lungs…

Wildly the Other thrashed against the hold… rolling around and pinning the tawny-haired teen beneath his massive frame… slamming his elbow into the teen's vulnerable side… all finesse and discipline disappeared as the pair grappled on the ground, throwing wild punches when suddenly…

Ocher gems widened and paled to a shade similar to one of those Starbucks vanilla frappucino drinks that he used to favor…

"Tetsuo… Momohara Tetsuo…" Ichigo's voice croaked from disuse… apparently there was a difference between in the mindscape and the real world…

The Other stopped his assault… his dark and unfocused eyes blinked in confusion… Tetsuo… that was his name but… he was not called that… not any more… he was Experiment 769-08... Tetsuo was a dream… was he not?… dark eyes blinked, slowly returning focus… slowly remembering…

"I-Ichigo…?" The Other's voice cracked, causing him to cough violently… blood dripped past his lips…

"Tetsuo! Don't talk!" The young Shinigami exclaimed as he sat up, easing the Other into his arms once the Other began to sob.

"Ichigo! Ichigo!" Tetsuo cried and cried, unaware of his Hollow-talon's digging into the tawny-haired teen's flesh, "Please… make it stop… make it stop…!"

Instinctively Ichigo wrapped his arms around his classmate and friend and glared at the Observation Deck above them… a deep and menacing growl vibrated from the depths of the teen's soul and made itself known to Them.

"Experiment 769-08 continue with the battle assessment." The Pit echoed with a voice from above, causing Tetsuo to quake and wail.

"Experiment 769-08 continue… _I greet you with open arms_…" The voice spoke in a monotone.

The phrase made no sense to Ichigo and was about to snap at his captors, but he then was quickly startled by Tetsuo's inhumane screeching as he began clawing at his own face. Horrified, the tawny-haired teen could only helplessly watch as his classmate's flesh began to crawl and warp…

A single human eye stared at him… talons gripped deeper into his flesh…

"Please…" Tetsuo's voice gurgled, "… Ichigo… kill me… please… make it stop…"

"N-no… I - I c-can't… I-I…" Ichigo stuttered as he slowly backed away from the nightmare that his classmate had become, "Fight it! Tetsuo! Fight it! We'll get out of this together! Fight it!"

"Please… Ichigo… kill meeeeeeeeeee!" The Other shrieked as its hands wrapped itself around the young Shinigami's neck and began to squeeze, causing the teen to claw at the hands around his neck but unable to free himself.

*_AIBOU!*_ Shiro shouted from the depth's of the teen's mind.

*_Shiro…*_ He whispered before darkness claimed him…

The Pit came alive with a hellish release of reddish-black energy and a roar from a beast of the lowest pits of hell…

Experiment 769-08 did not react as it began to crumble into dust…

Molten amber-golden eyes glowed against tan complexion and stared into the single human eye…

"You're not Ichigo…" Tetsuo whispered breathlessly…

Loki just looked at the once human teen but did not answer… what was the point… the human was dead already… what lingered was a faint echo of who the human once was…

"Thank you…" The fragment of the human's soul whispered, "… protect … Ichigo…"

A heavy silence cascaded down, engulfing the Pit…

Loki trembled with barely contained rage as he felt his Aibou's mindscape crack under the pain of Ichigo's soul… he can feel his partner retreating to the albino's Hometree, hiding from everything… His Aibou was in pain, and he had no idea on how to fix it… he hated it… he hated the helplessness that consumed him… Loki's molten gold eyes glared at the Observation Deck… unaware surrounding him was an aura of reddish-hued black energy…

His fist clenched tightly, causing his knuckles to become translucent and his palms to bleed from his black claws digging into his flesh…

A draconic battle-cry ripped past his lips as he swung his sword arm around him… unleashing Kuroi Getsuga Tensho…


	11. Chapter 11

_**~Chapter 10~**_

_**Karakura Town**_

Standing outside the Kurosaki Clinic, a young man nervously fidgeted from foot-to-foot, oblivious to the odds looks that he was getting from passersby. Instead he was lost in his own mental world, debating on whether or not he should enter the clinic. He knew that his friends were in there… in a similar state of half dead and half alive as the few remaining victims at the hospital were… for the past week, Kisuke and Yoruichi had run him ragged in collecting evidence from Karakura High and from the victims - both alive and dead - that he had not the chance to come to the clinic to check on his human friends.

He felt like an eel that only _now_ did he remember them and had snuck away from the deranged scientist… and that was what Kisuke had become… going over the evidence, every single piece of evidence, once, twice… even three times, and doing the same with the analysis and results… it was as if he was making sure that no one could question the validity of his findings or may be the blonde was hoping that he was wrong… the redhead could never be sure what the exiled Shinigami thought…

_Pull yourself together, Renji…!_ The Aboriginal Shinigami belittled himself as he forced himself to take a step forward and then another.

Slowly he walked up the pathway of the clinic and entered.

He knew from experience with the Fourth Squad that hospitals and clinics were supposed to be quiet, a place of healing and yet… Renji could not help but get the sense that the silence was unnatural… after all this was where Kurosaki Ichigo lived, and Kami knew that the tawny-haired teen was anything but silent… and the tattooed Aboriginal did not mean that the human teen was vocal - he was - but the redhead was thinking more along the line of the Substitute Shinigami's continuously leaking reiatsu! The boy's spiritual energy had a life of its own… it had a warmth that just drew you to the teen just so you can bask in that warmth… and now…

Ichigo's home reminded the Sixth Squad's Lieutenant of death… as if all life had been sucked out of the place, and it unnerved Renji.

Quietly the Aboriginal walked through the clinic and toward the back when he suspected his friends would be… standing at the threshold; the redhead found himself shivering at the sight he saw… Seven bodies laid perfectly still in their beds… their breathing faint… barely audible… in fact, if it was not the faint beeping of some strange machine attached to them, Renji would have sworn that all seven were dead… four of the seven the Shinigami did not know, and as callous it may be, he did not pay them any mind.

Instead he went to one that he did know… he went to Chad, the gentle dark-skinned giant. Renji looked at the big dark-haired teen with concern… true, he may not have known Chad all that well, but he knew enough to know that the human was _not_ suppose to look so frail.

The human's frame looked thinner from the last time the tattooed Lieutenant had seen him and paler too… the Shinigami looked around and saw that he was completely alone. The redhead reached out and grasped Chad's big hand. The older man found it strange that for someone so young that his hands would be bigger than the Aboriginal's… Renji slowly pulled a bit of his reiatsu and gently poured it into the teen.

The Sixth Squad Lieutenant knew and understood that sharing reiatsu - despite it being taboo - was the only way to save the victims, and he had been refraining from doing so… until now… call him cruel, selfish and whatnot, but if he was going to share his reiatsu - and face possible exile - then he would do so for a friend!

The Shinigami was pleased to see that some of Chad's natural color had returned and went onto see Orihime, who was lying next to the big human… and again, he did not like what he saw of the young girl… these were his friends…! These were vibrant people…! They were not suppose to be laying in these beds… just a few breathes away from entering Soul Society! Renji repeated the process of sharing his reiatsu with his friend and mentally frowned when he noticed that the naïve buxom girl needed more of his reiatsu than Chad did. The redhead made a mental note to ask Kisuke about it when he got back to the candy-shop. The Lieutenant gently patted Orihime's hand and then made his way toward the Quincy and visibly winced.

Uryuu looked worse than Orihime and Chad… the archer was already naturally pale, but this affliction made him almost translucent… and it also appeared that the poison was also ravaging the teen with a fever as the boy's dark hair was clumped together by sweat. And while the tattooed Shinigami knew that none of the other victims were awake, the Quincy surprisingly had dark circles around his closed eyes. A strange sound caught the Lieutenant's attention, surprising him that the teen was whimpering and fidgeting in his state…

"Hey buddy…" Renji whispered as he reached for Uryuu's hand.

"Don't. Touch. Him. Shinigami." A cold voice snarled from behind the redhead, freezing the Shinigami in place.

The Aboriginal could feel the rise of a strange reiatsu. It was cold, unyielding and unforgiving and yet it seemed to calm the dark-haired Quincy.

Slowly Renji turned around and saw another human. He was well dressed with silvery-grey hair, and the coldest eyes that could even rival both _his _Captain and Hitsugaya-taichou's eyes combined!

"You're. Not. Taking. Him." The stranger coldly stated which confused the Lieutenant until he remembered what the well-dressed man had called him… _He knows what I am! Who is he?!_ Before the tattooed Shinigami could ask his question, the redhead heard thundering pounding of running feet.

"RYUUKEN!" Another voice broke through the heavy silence as a haggard dark-haired man came running into the patients' ward.

The silvery haired human snapped around and yelled, "I found him near my son, Isshin! What sort of security do you have?! Just letting anyone to just walk in here! And a Shinigami no less!"

It was just then the man, Isshin, realized that the Aboriginal was there. The dark-haired human blinked once then instantly his demeanor changed… his expression cold and hard and very determined… and for a brief moment, Renji thought he was looking at his friend, Ichigo.

"Ichigo…?" The Lieutenant whispered, and before he could even blink, he found himself slammed against the wall behind him and a steel grip around his neck, cutting air to his lungs. His eyes grew wide as he stared into the eyes of the dangerous man in front of him… he even felt a sliver of raw spiritual energy radiating off of the man… even that sliver was enough to crush the redhead if it were not for some outside intervention…

"ISSHIN! STOP! HE'S A FRIEND!" Kisuke shouted, "HE'S ICHIGO'S FRIEND!"

Renji collapsed to the floor when Isshin released him, and the Lieutenant greedily pulled air into his lungs while staring at the dark-haired man. The tattooed man's eyes grew wide as everything about his tawny-haired friend made sense… why Ichigo was able to take the bulk of Rukia's reiatsu all those months ago… why the human was able to regain the powers of the Shinigami… and why the Substitute Shinigami was insanely powerful… Ichigo was the son of a Shinigami!… and no ordinary Shinigami at that, if Renji was going to judge the sliver of reiatsu that the dark-haired man exuded and nearly killed the Aboriginal with.

"Who are you." Isshin demanded in a tone that the redhead knew would mean his death if he did not answer… a tone of a desperate father and an enraged Shinigami…

"Arabi Renji, Sixth Squad Lieutenant…" The Shinigami answered, "I serve under Kuchiki Byakuya…"

A frown marred Isshin's face as the powerful human-guised Shinigami turned to the blonde scientist.

"He's been helping me gather evidence to take to the Gotei 13 so they can act…"

"Have you gone mad?!" The silver-haired man snapped, but Kisuke did not flinch.

And while Renji was confused on how the three men knew each other, he knew that it was in his best interest to just shut up and observe… may be he could get some information for his Captain to use to expedite the Court's ruling… he hoped…

"You know as well as I do that the Gotei 13 will not help!" Ryuuken snarled.

"We have to try!" Kisuke replied then turned to the quiet Isshin, "You know that they have the resources to find Ichigo… in all three worlds!"

"Then why haven't they?" Ichigo's father's voice was empty as he looked at the exiled Shinigami with dead eyes.

Both Ryuuken and Kisuke looked away… the haunted look in their friend's eyes was a look that they rather never see ever again.

"Why haven't they acted? Isn't my son their ally?"

Renji bit his lip… he had asked himself the same questions ever since Yoruichi had brought the news, but he could not fathom what the answer would be.

No one answered Isshin.

Suddenly a quiet whimper echoed from Uryuu's bed, drawing everyone's attention on the young Quincy.

"What's wrong with him?" The redhead blurted out, causing Ryuuken to glare at the tattooed Shinigami.

"I-I mean… why he's feverish?" The Lieutenant stuttered, but the silver-haired man's glare did not lessen.

"It's because he's spiritual energy went dormant after his fights against Mayuri… not gone as I had first thought." Kisuke answered.

"URAHARA!" The older Quincy snarled, "It's none of _his_ concern! It's a family matter!"

The blonde blinked then softly smiled.

"I'm family?" The exiled Shinigami asked. His tone small and child-like, and it caused the silver-haired man to blink in confusion before his expression morphed into one of pure disgust. However, Ryuuken did not even correct himself before turning his attention back to his son.

"Don't worry, Renji." Kisuke stated, "While it's disconcerting, this is normal for Uryuu to be feverish… it means that he'll be waking up soon."

This caught the Lieutenant's attention.

"What about Chad and Orihime? Will they wake up soon too?"

The blonde looked at the other sleeping people with a thoughtful frown.

"I don't know… I hope so…"

The redhead nodded his head in understanding and began to pray to the Spirit King that his friends would wake up soon.

* * *

Night had fallen, and no one had left the clinic. Ryuuken, Uryuu's father, had not left his son's side, save only to go to the bathroom. Kisuke had disappeared to another portion of the clinic. Renji presumed that the blonde was in the clinic's lab. And Isshin…

Isshin was upstairs, sitting in Ichigo's room. The Lieutenant of the Sixth Squad stood nervously at the doorway of his friend's room with a cup of tea in his hands. The redhead knew that there was not a whole lot he could do but hoped that may be the tea would sooth the mysterious older Shinigami's nerves.

"You have questions…" Isshin's voice broke through the silence, causing the Aboriginal to blush because… yes, he did have questions… lots of questions, but he knew that now was not the time to ask them.

"They could wait." He said as he handed the dark-haired man the cup, "Uhm… I made you some tea…"

"Thank you." The older Kurosaki whispered then looked at the photo that he was holding.

Renji peeked down and was surprised - and yet not - to see the man was holding onto a family photo. The redhead can see that the Kurosaki were a happy family. Ichigo was a toddler… may be four or even six years old… and smiling! The Lieutenant did not even realize how bright and beautiful the tawny-haired human could be when the Substitute Shinigami truly smiled… but then he remembered… Renji had never seen Ichigo truly smile like that…

"Does he still smile like that?" The young Shinigami blurted out then felt his flesh aflame in embarrassment, especially under Isshin's penetrating stare.

Before Isshin could answer, the clinic suddenly exploded with noise, startling everyone and causing all to make a mad run downstairs… praying to whoever would listen that they had not lost one of Ichigo's friends.


	12. Chapter 12

_**~Chapter 11~**_

_**Johan Boehner's Laboratory**_

Ichigo could feel his head being heavy and his body stiff… his muscles protested against the lack of movement… his eyelids were heavy and seemed to be glued together… he tried to move his hand but quickly found out that he could not… that woke him up.

Ocher eyes snapped open as he instantly observed his situation… _Oh Kami… not again!_ He mentally moaned when he realized that he was strapped down to a surgical table, and the table was up-right. The tawny-haired teen tried to move again, testing strength of the brace, but knew it was of no use… he was trapped.

Looking up, Ichigo's eyes grew wide in horror…

*_Shiro!*_ The teen mentally called out to his inner demon….

For lying on a surgical table across from him was his Hollow.

*_SHIRO!*_

*_Ngh…*_ The albino groaned as his head rolled a bit before he too looked up.

The teen could see the dark half was struggling to wake up. It made the Substitute Shinigami wonder what made his beautiful and deadly shadow so weak. *_Please, Shiro! Please, let this be a nightmare! Shiro, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!*_ Ichigo pleaded.

*_Ai-Aibou…?*_ The Hollow's voice was groggy from sleep as his gold-against-black orbs blinked open.

Once his eyes were opened, they immediately sought out his human's eyes, and in that moment, the truth dawned on the both of them… They knew about Shirosaki Loki…

On instinct, Loki struggled against his restraints but immediately found it was useless… he was trapped, much like his partner. A deep draconic growl ripped pass his drawn back lips… while naturally the pale Hollow had sharp canines, the experiments conducted on Ichigo carried over onto Loki and made the albino's canine even more sharp and deadly.

*_Aibou… ya alrigh'?*_

Ichigo closed his eyes and shook his head. Of course not, he was not alright… these monsters knew about his Hollow… he had failed in protecting his darker half, and now Shiro was going to pay the price for his failures… a quiet whine echoed in the surgical room, which was answered by another whine.

*_It aien' ya faul', 'chi…*_ Loki whispered, startling the tawny-haired teen. _'chi_ was a new nickname, and one that the Substitute Shinigami suspected would be used when it was just the two of them.

*_Ah do it ag'n an' ag'n…*_

*_I wanted to keep you safe… protect you…* _Ichigo confessed, causing Shiro to frown.

*_Ya can' portec' every one, 'chi… especially me… ah'm ya Hollow… ya Horse…*_

The teen shook his head.

*_No, you're your own person… you're Shirosaki Loki… my darkness… my friend… my sanity…*_ He whispered.

Before Loki could respond, the lab door opened and entered the Evil Voice with two of his minions. Both Ichigo and Loki snarled at the monster responsible for their nightmares.

*_Le' Ichigo go! An' ah'll kill ya quickly!*_ Loki roared as he renewed his struggles against his restraints.

The Evil Voice just looked at Shiro curiously before turning to the tawny-haired teen and tutted at the young human.

"Tut… tut… Experiment 4215 -" His evil voice was still as they remembered it… like greasy, oily slim down their spine and nails on the chalkboard…

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, you bastard! You know who I am!" The teenager interrupted and was backhanded for his efforts.

"You are an anomaly of nature!" The Evil Voice stated, "A freak… no _normal_ human should have your powers… but then again, you're no ordinary human… are you, _**Tennyo**_?"

Ichigo froze… he had heard that word before… his mother… his mother called him that… had called him… _my Tennyo Prince…_

"Ah! I see, you're heard the word before…" The Evil Voice chuckled.

*_Leave 'im alone! Ya Bastard! Ah'll kill ya!*_ Shiro roared again, causing the Evil Voice to whirl around.

"Silence, Hollow! I will get to you yet!" He ordered.

*_No' if ah ge' tah ya firs'…*_ Loki gave him a dark and dangerous smile.

The Evil Voice suddenly threw his head back and laughed. The sound caused the pair to wince as it pierced their eardrums.

"You ignorant fool! Do you not know what made you visible to me? No? This is the Mirror of Shadows! This reveals all Hollows to those without the ability to see them… an ancient Quincy artifact that I procured from its previous owner -"

"You mean stole from Uryuu's grandfather." Ichigo stated in a deadly calm voice and again he was awarded with another backhand.

"This mirror reveals Hollows and traps them within its reflection and that…" The Evil Voice then pointed to an amber blade, that reminded the human youth of a French guillotine, above the teen and the mirror-trapped Hollow, "separates the Hollow from the human."

A cold fear echoed through the shared bond between the Hollow and Substitute Shinigami. After everything they have endured, the thought of being separated from one another was a terrifying prospect… to be utterly alone without the other's comforting presence was something that they both knew they could not handle…

"Of course… we had no success in separating the Hollow from the Human…" The Evil Voice grinned then reached out and caressed Ichigo's cheek, causing the tawny-haired youth to shiver in revulsion and Shiro to howl in enraged, "but with a Tennyo… I believe we will be far more successfully… begin the separation process!"

The Evil Voice ordered as he stormed out of the lab, leaving the light and dark twins to struggle against their fate.

The room boomed as the amber blade began its descent, cutting the air between the young Shinigami and his Hollow.

Fear vibrated between their bond as they struggled against their restraints, oblivious to the fact that the straps had dug into their flesh and causing them both to bleed… bright crimson and blackish burgundy…

Suddenly the lab echoed with twin inhuman howls and screams of pain and agony as the blade's descent slowed… as if it met with some sort of resistance… the pain was overwhelming… maddening… and on pure instinct and fear of being alone, Ichigo and Loki subconsciously began pouring their reiatsu into their bond…

*_Yes, that's it.*_ A familiar gruff voice encouraged.

*_That's it, Ichigo… Loki…*_ Zangetsu continued, *_Strengthen your bond… put everything into it…*_

With each encouraging word from their shared zanpaku-to, the twins of light and dark poured more and more of their reiatsu into their bond… the pain was still overwhelming but ignored… the amber blade stilled in place and vibrated as the twin's combined reiatsu held it in place… soon more pressure was applied, causing the blade to push down bit by bit, and the lab thundered by the twin's defiant howls… they were holding the blade back with everything they had… their reiatsu and sheer will when suddenly…

A glass shattering, high-pitched snap blasted throughout the lab…

The twins howled even louder in pain and agony…

The amber blade slammed down, shattering into dust…

And the Mirror of Shadows exploded from the inside out… no longer able to contain the presence trapped inside… a presence that was no longer a shadow but of flesh and blood…

In the aftermath of the explosion of energy, the shadowy presence of the Moon Piercer watched as his two charges collapsed into one another's arms… exhausted and weak, and yet Zangetsu knew that now the pair were stronger now then they ever were…

The lab doors opened and hurried feet entered the demolished room. Zangetsu easily faded back into the recesses of the twins' mind world, knowing the monster's own zanpaku-to would be able to sense his presence… they had been lucky that They had only recently discovered of Shiro's existence, but if They were to discover Zangetsu, the twins would be in greater danger…

"Master! The Hollow! It's alive! It has a physical form!" One of the minions exclaimed.

The Master stood amidst the destruction of his lab with a deranged glee in his eyes.

"Take it! And let's see how well it will fair… will it take after the Tennyo or will it die…" He said more to himself then to his subordinates.

* * *

His entire body ached… his muscles protested when he just breathed… his eyes thick and heavy and after a while, he managed to open them and looked around him. A frown marred his face… _This aien' my mindscape…_ He thought as he glared at the obscenely clean room.

His mind quickly fleeted through the shared memories of his partner and immediately realized where he was… he was in one of the labs, where these bastards played god with one's essences… but this realization left him confused… while normally he preferred that his partner had never known about this lab nor does he preferred that it was his partner… the fact that it was _him_ and not his partner was what confused him…

"Ah, I see that the Minus is awake." A voice sneered, causing molten-gold orbs to glare at the speaker.

It was the Evil Voice's favorite minion, or as Loki liked to call him Dickless #1.

A low and deep growl vibrated throughout the lab while the albino's lips pulled back, revealing his sharper than usual canines.

"Ah gonna make ya pay fir hur'in' my Aibou…" The pale doppelganger promised.

Dickless #1 blinked then grabbed the Hollow's chin. Loki tried to take a bit of the bastard's hand… childish - yes, but it would hurt him; however, Dickless #1 held firmly to the pale youth's face, twisting the albino's head this way and that.

"Fascinating…" Dickless #1 mumbled, "Dialect is that of a low-class… it still speaks coherently… much more developed than the other Minuses we had acquired in the past… in fact… the subject is quite different from the other mangy beasts we have had…"

Loki continued to growl. A part of him wanted to shout his name at the bastard, but another part of him knew that Dickless #1 was expecting some sort of reaction. Instead of shouting, the albino just bared his fangs and began plotting on how he was going to slowly kill all of them.

"Sir! Sir…!" A squeaky voiced minion ran into the lab, holding some sort of file.

"What is it?" Dickless #1 snapped as he turned away and glared at his minion.

"The preliminary reports on the Minus, Sir!" The squeaky voice became even squeakier with excitement and grated on Loki's ears, causing the albino to growl even louder and deadlier - startling the stupid minion.

Dickless #1 did not even bother to turn around, but instead looked at the report the minion had given him. As he read the report, his smile became more twisted, which put the Hollow on edge. Dickless #1 eyes then bored into Loki's golden orbs. He looking at the albino… really looking and then he let out a pleased sound as if he found what he was looking for.

"Now I see it…" The asshole muttered while the pale youth continued to growl. Dickless #1 the laughed, "Oh how precious, without realizing it, you just confirmed these findings… you stupid little Minus!"

"An' wha' fin'in's ya talkin' 'bou'?" Loki snapped.

"The experiments done on Experiment 4215 have somehow carried over to you, my savage beast, and yet… you act more savage than Experiment 4215... Could it be because you Minuses act on your baser instinct…?"

"Dunno… why don' ya cu' me loose an' fin' out' yerself." The albino sarcastically suggested, which caused Dickless #1 to frown.

"But you don't act like the other Minuses…" The asshole remarked on the Hollow's uniqueness then shrugged, "No matter, I have always been curious as to what happens if we were to conduct the same experiments on a subject that has already been treated… and I have that chance… Master is very generous…"


	13. Chapter 13

_**~Chapter 12~**_

_**Kurosaki Clinic, Seireitei**_

"Uryuu…" Ryuuken whispered as he held onto his son's hand.

Earlier he had given out a shout when he noticed that his child had squeezed his hand. The silver-haired father could hear his long-time friends, including the tattooed Shinigami, come thundering in from wherever they were.

"Uryuu…" He whispered even more softly, "Oeff deine Augen fuer Papa…"

His voice was a bit rough. He had not spoken German in many years… not since Uryuu was a small boy, but the words naturally flowed from his lips. He remembered when his son was young and had nightmares, Ryuuken would sing to his boy in German. The gruff language comforted the Ishida males back then and even now. The older Quincy watched as his son struggled to do as he was told… struggling to open his eyes.

After a few unsuccessful tries, the younger Quincy's blue eyes fluttered open and stared around him unseeing. A few seconds later the teen's eyes narrowed on Ryuuken. The older man suspected that his son must have recognized his blurry features.

"Pa… pa…?" Uryuu croaked as confusion colored his face and voice.

Ryuuken knew that his behavior was a bit out of character as his son knew him, but the silver-haired man had nearly lost his son twice over the course of the week. So gods and pride be damned, and the elder Quincy followed his first instinct and placed a chaste kiss on his boy's forehead. He then reached over to the nightstand and placed his son's glasses on his face.

Ryuuken then felt someone tap his shoulder. He glanced up to see his cousin's husband holding a glass of water with a straw in it. With the offered glass in hand, the silver-haired father gave the dark-haired Shinigami the barest of nods in gratitude. He then turned his attention back to his son, who watched the entire transaction in complete bewilderment. Ryuuken did not know if the confusion stemmed from waking up in a strange environment or the fact that the silver-haired man was expressing concern for the teen. The older Quincy would not be surprised if it was both, but right now… they needed to know if Uryuu was truly awake or was this child a shell of his former self?

The elder Ishida watched as his son took slow sips of water and watched everyone around him with a wary eye.

"Uryuu?" Ryuuken began, still speaking in German, "Do you know who I am?"

"Eh… yes… you're my father." The teen replied softly but also in German.

The older Quincy felt a small knot of tension leave his shoulders.

"Do you know where you are?"

The teen looked around.

"A clinic."

"Ryuuken, Uryuu has never been to our clinic before." Isshin interrupted then looked at the Mexican-Japanese youth, "Only Chad knows that we live here."

"This is Ichigo's home?!" The awake teen blinked then looked… really looked at the dark-haired man. His eyes narrowed again as the others could see the younger Quincy tried to see any family resemblance between the doctor and the tawny-haired teen. But judging by Uryuu's frown, the dark-haired teen did not find anything that he was looking for.

"Ichigo takes after my mother's side in looks." Isshin confessed with a sad smile.

"And his hair?!" The teen dared to ask.

This caused Renji to snort, but otherwise he kept quiet and to the background. However, the redhead was curious as to what the older Kurosaki had to say about that.

"I don't know honestly, but I think it's from your side of the family." He teased, which caused the teen and the Lieutenant to sputter and Ryuuken to jump to his feet and curse the older Shinigami.

"This is neither the time nor the place, Shinigami!"

"What?!" Uryuu gasped as he looked between Ichigo's father and his own.

Isshin looked solemnly at his wife's cousin and the godfather of his twin girls then warily sighed.

"You're right, Ryuuken," The tired man replied before looking at the older Quincy with a stern expression that Uryuu had seen many times on the Substitute Shinigami, "but we can't keep the kids in the dark any longer… they must know! And once we get Ichigo back -"

"ICHIGO!" Uryuu suddenly exclaimed in an inhuman shriek, startling everyone around him.

Ryuuken immediately kept his son from thrashing about and attempting to escape from the bed. The older Quincy mentally frowned at how quickly his son became tired, but then again, the older Ishida thought it could be explained. Uryuu, after all, just woke up from a week long poison induced coma.

"Papa… he took him…" The raven-haired teen muttered between breaths. Exhaustion was threatening to take him back to the land of sleep, but everyone could see the pale teen was fighting it.

"Who took whom?" Renji suddenly whispered, but it sounded deafening in the near silence.

Blue eyes darted onto the redhead, causing the Lieutenant to keep himself from flinching at the wild and panicked glaze in the younger Quincy's eyes.

"He took Ichigo! He took him! We have to save him!" Uryuu's whispers came out hoarse, "He'll hurt him! Please! Pap! You have to save him! No one deserves that!"

"Calm down, Uryuu…" Isshin gasped, worried and afraid at what could scare the usually stoic teen to such a degree, "Who has my son? And why do you think he'll hurt him?"

Blue eyes were wide, revealing the lost little boy that the teen had kept hidden and buried ever since his grandfather died.

"He killed Opa…"

* * *

"Renji…"

The redhead looked at his Captain, not at all surprised that he would be waiting at the gate. The Aboriginal's eyes darted about him, curious to see who else had come with the Sixth Captain. The tattooed Shinigami was not surprised to see the Captain of the 11th Squad with his Lieutenant off in the background. After all, Kenpachi apparently had taken a liking to the tawny-haired human. However, the redhead was surprised to see the Captains from the Fourth and 10th Squads.

Renji easily speculated the reason for Captain Unohana's presence was to go over Kisuke's findings. The exiled Shinigami was not a medical doctor, and while there would be no doubt of the blonde's findings, the former 12th Captain would not be able to place his findings in context of a physician… of course, they did not _need _the Fourth Captain's opinion on the findings. They had the interpretation of both Ichigo's father - an unknown Shinigami but a Shinigami nonetheless - and Uryuu's father, another Quincy… both of whom were doctors. However, that revelation and the many others that the Lieutenant carried would be best addressed in the sanctuary of the Kuchiki compound… away from possible spying eyes and ears…

Now as for Captain Hitsugaya's presence…? Normally any investigations would fall under the Ninth Squad, but since Kaname's defection, any and all investigation duties fell under the petite Captain's Squad. But this particular case was given to Captain Kurotsuchi by the First Captain.

Renji thickly swallowed back the acidic bile that threatened to come out, especially with the knowledge that he possessed. Only Yoruichi, Kisuke and himself knew that the mad scientist investigating this massive attack was also the perpetrator of the attack. The Lieutenant shuddered at the thought of what could happen to Soul Society if the two fathers knew… _They would make the destruction that Ichigo and Aizen did look like child's play in comparison…_

"How was your vacation?" Unohana-taichou asked.

Instinctively the Aboriginal looked to his Captain for guidance. The stoic Noble nodded his head.

"Uhm… very educational?" The Rukon Shinigami visibly winced at his tone, which caused Zaraki to snort and laugh while both the 10th and 4th Captains just arched their brows in confusion.

At this moment, the redhead wished for a big, gapping hole to appear and swallow him whole. He was both embarrassed and terrified.

* * *

"Report." Byakuya stated as they settled in the Kuchiki Heir's private study. Probably one of the most secure places in the Seireitei, if not in the entire Soul Society… and yet Renji still felt extremely exposed.

Casting nervous glances around the room, the redhead knew that his Captain would be on edge. This behavior was extremely out of character for the Lieutenant, but then again, it was not everyday that he was going to drop the proverbial bombshell on them. Deciding that he had stalled long enough, the tattooed Shinigami took a deep breath and said…

"We have a witness."

The silence was thick before it was broken by Yarichu.

"Isn't that a good thing?" The pinkette asked, but Hitsugaya-taichou spoke up before anyone could answer her.

"A witness to Kurosaki's kidnapping? Or to the attack?" Teal eyes narrowed, daring the redhead to lie.

"Both… we believe that he is responsible for both."

Renji waited for one of them to ask who were the 'we' he had mentioned, but no one asked. He did, however, saw a strange glint in his Captain's eyes, which meant that when they were alone, Renji would be revealing everything to the Noble. And the redhead was uncertain if it would be wise to reveal the truth of Ichigo's heritage to his Captain.

"And what did the witness say? Who did this?" Hitsugaya-taichou asked which made the Aboriginal take another deep breath.

"Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri." The redhead calmly answered, despite the fact that he felt anything but calm.

The tattooed Shinigami could hear Kenpachi growling while his pink-haired Lieutenant was trying to keep from outright crying. The Captains from the 10th and 4th Squads were solemn as if they could not decide on what reaction would be appropriate and Byakuya… the raven-haired Noble just blinked, a slow and deliberate blink.

"How credible is this witness?" The small, frosty Captain demanded.

"Very." Renji did not hesitate in answering.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Zaraki growled out as he glared at the quiet 6th Captain.

"I…" Byakuya was quiet and hesitant, "do not know…"

* * *

Not long after the Lieutenant of 6th Squad had made his report, the 1st Captain Yamamoto had called all the Captains to announce the 12th Captain's verdict on the investigation. The four Captains did not bother to look at one another nor acknowledge one another. They knew what was going to happen. As the humans would say, the 1st Captain was going to throw the Substitute Shinigami under the bus, but as to why, they did not know nor did they not know how stop it.

"Captain Kurotsuchi," The 1st Captain's voice boomed over the din of the murmuring chatter between the Captains and soon after the audience hall became quiet, "have you concluded your investigation of the incident at Karakura High School?"

"I have." The mad scientist almost giggled.

"Then report." The old Captain demanded.

"Of course." The 12th Captain nodded his head, "after reviewing the traitor's notes, I have come to the conclusion that his results are false."

The audience hall boomed in shocked exclamation, save for four Captains.

"Silence!" Yamamoto bellowed, causing the Captains to immediately fall silent. The aged Shinigami then nodded to the scientist-captain to continue.

"Yes, after extensive research, I have discovered that there is a human terrorist group that has access to a chemical compound called Sarin gas… it has similar effects to the Black Iris poison. I have concluded that a human terrorist group is responsible for the attack on the human school, and therefore not a matter of the Gotei 13."

The 1st Captain nodded his head in agreement and was about to dismiss the meeting when Captain Ukitake suddenly called out.

"What of Kurosaki-kun? Are we to abandon an ally?" The frail Shinigami asked which caused a renewed wave of murmurs.

The 1st and 12th Captains shared a look before Yamamoto nodded his head again. Mayuri turned around, and while he normally bore a manic grin which sent many on edge, there was a new quality of madness to the mad scientist's smile.

"It has recently come to light that Kurosaki is not what he seems to be…"

"What do you mean?" Captain Komamura growled out, "Aside from the fact that he's the only human on record to _steal_ the powers of a Shinigami."

"That _boy_ was able to do so because it turns out that he is a Hollow hybrid."

Silence enveloped the entire hall; even the four Captains were surprised. While three looked at one another, Byakuya looked thoughtful as he remembered his fight with the tawny-haired human. He remembered for a brief moment that he fought another within the teen's body… the other may have been vicious in his attacks, but the nobleman could sense that the other's intentions was to protect… to protect his 'King' if the Kuchiki Heir recalled correctly…

"… according to royal decree, all Hollow hybrid are an abomination to Natural Order and therefore must be destroyed." Yamamoto's voice cut through the 6th Captain's thoughts. "Kurosaki Ichigo is an abomination and therefore must be destroyed!"


	14. Chapter 14

_**~Chapter 13~**_

_**Johan Boehner's Laboratory**_

Pain… his entire body screamed in pain as did his soul… They took something from him… They took something precious, and he was furious… They jeered and laughed at him, each time he bared his fangs and lunged at Them…

For the brief moment that the sweet iron taste of their blood sang on his tongue as he ripped Their throats with his fangs and claws, he felt alive… but he was still incomplete… his lips drew back, baring his fangs at Them again… They kept coming at him… he had lost count of the number of Them he had maimed and killed… They continued to come, and he continued to sink his fangs and claws into Them…

The Last dropped away… his pale hands dyed a bright crimson… in his fist, he clutched onto the still unraveling organ of the Last's entrails… gold against black narrowed… he lifted his head… he scented the air… it was thick with the scent of blood, pain and madness but not of what he seek… he threw his head back and howled a mighty roar…

His song was filled with pain and loneliness, and yet it was underlined with a faint hope that this time… that this time his howl might be answered… the last note of his song faded into nothingness… his head tilted to the side as he listened… but he heard only silence… his heart tightened in pain… he was about to whimper when suddenly…

A song! Not just any song! His match's song! He felt lighter… he threw his head back again and gave another song… on and on, the two songs echoed pass the distance to answer one another… giving each other hope and strength…

* * *

"Remarkable…" One of the technicians muttered as he observed Experiment 4215-A, the Minus version of Experiment 4215.

Experiment 4215-A had just successfully survived an entire week of new inoculation of the same gene therapy that Experiment 4215 had undergone. While Experiment 4215-A's features remained the same, it was obvious that there was more 'creature' in the Minus. And it was fascinating to the technician, who noticed that even though the animal DNA they had injected the creature with was that of the human world, the Minus' own Spiritron had given the animal feature a more draconic appearance.

If the technician was of a fanciful sort, he would have believed that they had inoculated Experiment 4215-A with Drake DNA, a dragon-like wolf.

And not only was Experiment 4215-A responding well to the gene therapy, the Minus performed spectacularly in the Arena. Experiment 4215-A moved with such speeds that not even the slow motion cameras could properly show the Minus' attacks. Experiment 4215-A attacked quickly and viciously. Never once did the Minus allow its opponent a chance to land a single a blow. It just attacked and attacked until there was none left. They would soon run out of the other experiments that they could use to test Experiment 4215-A's strength and abilities.

And now this… of course, Experiment 4215-A had previously let loose its strange howl-roar but never before had there been a response to the Minus' cry.

"Fascinating!" The technician continued as he recorded the strange communication before filling the Arena with a gas that would knock out the powerful experiment.

They had quickly learned that the best and safest way to transport Experiment 4215-A was to knock out the Minus or else it would kill everything around it and attempt to escape. The gas took several long minutes to fill the room and another several long minutes before Experiment 4215-A began to collapse to the ground. But the technician could still see that the Minus was struggling to fight against the gas' effects. He quickly annotated his observations before filling the Arena with another dose of the gas. It was another few moments before Experiment 4215-A had stopped struggling, and before the technician felt it was safe enough to move the Minus.

His Master would be most pleased with the experiment's progress… most pleased indeed.

* * *

His footsteps were light and made no sound. He had no fear of being hunted. This, after all, was his territory. For several moons, he prowled his territory and letting his Soul sing. For several moons, his Soul sang out. He was incomplete. He knew it. He did not need the Moon to tell him that he was without his other half.

The Moon had told him to let his Soul sing out for his other half. The Moon had said that his other half would hear him and sing back. The Moon had never lied to him, and he did as the Moon had asked.

At first it hurt because there was no answer when his Soul sang. Did his other half hate him? Did his other half not like the song of his Soul? The Moon gently smiled and had told him to be patient. The Moon had told him that his other half could hear his Song but could not answer, but his other half would answer… soon…

And then… he heard it. His other half had let his Soul sing. It was faint. He would have missed it if he had not be waiting and listening for it. He felt his eyes sting. His other half… his Song was so sad and yet hopefully but still sad. He did not need the Moon to tell him what to do next. He knew, and he too let loose his Soul to sing loudly. Their Songs went back and forth, answering one another and becoming more beautiful until suddenly…

He growled at the sudden silence.

_They_ had stopped their Songs!

_They_ had hurt his other half!

His eyes narrowed and became hard, like a pair of chipped gems. His body hummed with dangerous energy. Immediately he began pacing back and forth. His eyes glared into the surrounding darkness.

They had ripped his other half from the safety of his Soul.

They had hurt his other half as They had hurt him.

He may not have felt the physical pain that his other half had suffered, but he did feel a pain that ran deeper than the body. This different type of pain even echoed through the Moon. The Moon that he shared with his other half.

He growled deeper as he stalked the length of his cage.

They think that They can cage him?

They think that They can control him?

He drew his lips back, baring his fangs.

He would teach them that They were wrong.

He would teach them that They cannot cage him.

He would teach them that They cannot control him.

And when he and his other half were together again, as the Black and White Face of the Moon, they will kill them all…

* * *

"Fascinating…" Miitchu muttered as he reviewed the notes from his technicians, "It would seem that once the Minus was no longer in Experiment 4215, the subject became aggressive… the subject's speed, strength and abilities remain the same… we still, however, have not managed to recreate the scenario of the subject using Celestial Spiritron… but we did manage to see a slight influx of its pressure."

"Meaning?" His Master demanded.

"Meaning it's there under the surface; however, we haven't found the right trigger to bring it to the foreground and keep it there for us to utilize as a weapon against the Minuses."

"What were the conditions of the original outburst of Celestial Spiritron?"

"That would be when we first placed Experiment 4215 into the Arena… the subject was in a life-and-death situation when the energy was released."

"Hmm…" Master Boehner looked thoughtful, "and you have recreated the life-and-death situation?"

"Attempted to, Sir."

"Attempted to? What do you mean by that?!" The Master snarled.

"We have placed Experiment 4215 against every opponent and program that we had believed would best defeat the subject; however, Experiment 4215 has defeated each one without so much a hint of distress or a hint of releasing the Celestial Spiritron." Miitchu explained.

"Even against a Mega-Minus?" Master Boehner asked.

A Mega-Minus was a Minus that they had experimented on by removing their masks. They had discovered that by removing the mask of a Minus, the Minus would gain powers equivalent to a Soul Reaper… these Mega-Minuses had more of a humanoid appearance and even possessed a Soul Sword. They also quickly discovered that the best way to control a Mega-Minus was to destroy their Soul Sword. Once the Mega-Minus' Soul Sword was destroyed, they were quite obedient to commands…

"Yes'sir, even against the Mega-Minuses that we had."

"Has Experiment 4215 revealed its Soul Sword at least?"

"We also have tried to force the subject to summon it in hopes to control the subject, but it never manifested."

"Intriguing." The Master muttered to himself.

"And what of Experiment 4251-A?"

"Progressing nicely." Miitchu stated, "When we initially assessed Experiment 4215-A's power level, it was already that of a high level Mega-Minus. Currently the subject's power level is equivalent to at least three Mega-Minuses."

"And it's Soul Sword?"

"Unfortunately it too hasn't manifested."

Silence fell over them as Master Boehner thought.

"Let's put both Experiment 4215 and 4215-A in the arena together."

"To fight each other?"

"Yes, let's see which is the stronger of the two, and perhaps we can force them to reveal either the Celestial Spiritron or even their Soul Sword."

"Very well, sir." Miitchu bowed.

* * *

Even encased in darkness, he knew that he was just thrown into the Pit. He knew from scent and feel of the place. They could not smell it, but he did. His sense of smell heightened just as equally as his other senses, and his nose can pick up the faint scents of fear, anger, pain, blood and death. The air of the Pit carried much of the same… the scent of the Others he had fought, but there was another scent and presence hidden beneath all of the pain, blood and death.

He knew the scent. It was familiar to him. It called to his Soul. He hated having to scent the comforting smell in the Pit, but the scent did ease him. It told him that the other of his Soul was still alive and still fighting. It gave him hope, and hope gave him strength…

But this time…

This time, the scent of his other half was stronger. It filled the Pit more than the other scents. Did that mean his other half had just fought? Did that mean he could see his other half?

He stilled in the Pit. He felt the small hairs at the nape of his neck rise. He felt it in the air. He was not alone. There was another. The Other knew he was there too.

The air became thick with tension.

But the scent was stronger.

It confused him.

Small and faint whimpers escaped pass his lips. He tensed. He had just told the Other where he was. He readied for an attack.

An attack that never came, but an equally soft and pained whimper answered his own.

Curious, he let out a low growl.

A growl answered back.

Confused but with a small seedling of hope growing in his heart and soul, he cautiously stepped out of the comfort of the shadows. He blinked. His eyes adjusted to the light. His footsteps were light, barely making a sound. He let out a mix of whine and growls, hoping to meet the Other, hoping that the Other knew of his other half.

Suddenly the air changed.

The Pit echoed with a yip, and he found himself tumbling head over heels as something plowed right into him.

Tumbling a few more times, he opened his eyes and found himself staring into twin pools of molten gold against the purest of black.

_*SHIRO!*_

_*AIBOU!*_

_**Stay tuned for the next installment of Bleach - A Breed Apart come December 1, 2013.**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**~Chapter 14~**_

_**Karakura Town**_

Looking outside of his shop's window, he had let Tessai's words wash over him. His mind had gone numb while he felt every single years of his long life. He could not fathom what he had just heard. It was not that he did not believe the message to be false. It was that he could not believe that the Gotei 13 would readily hand down this verdict, especially after everything that he had done for them... the blonde could not comprehend Yamamoto's decision...

"Kisuke..." Tessai's gruff voice was soft as he looked at his longtime friend.

The exiled Shinigami turned around. His eyes were dull and dead in disbelief. Not even the ridiculous sight of the big, burly shopkeeper with a Hell Butterfly resting on top of his head brought any mirth to the blonde's eyes. How could the former Captain find humor in the silly sight when Soul Society had just issued a kill-on-sight order on his godson?!

Kisuke felt his eyes sting from tears threatening to spill free when he realized that he would have to tell Isshin of the decision... _We should have listened to Ryuken..._ The blonde bitterly thought as he rubbed his face. They should have realized that they would not receive any help from Yamamoto... even after all these years, they had still hoped and still believed in the principles that the Gotei 13 was supposed to stand for.

"Gods, we're naive..." He mumbled as he slowly rose to his feet. He swayed a bit as he felt the grips of shock attempting to overwhelm him, but he quickly steadied himself while Tessai looked on in anticipation to aide his friend should the blonde needed it.

"Where is Yoruichi?" He asked once he realized that the Shihoin Heiress was missing.

"She just left." Tessai answered, "She said that she was going to Soul Society to discover what is going on and hopefully check the Records... perhaps the Records would have more information on Ichigo's whereabouts."

"Okay..." Kisuke absently replied while only half listening.

"Shall I come with you?" Tessai asked as he followed the blonde out of the shop.

"No..." The exiled Captain croaked, "This... this... I have to do alone."

Tessai frowned but did not comment further while he watched the blonde disappear into the night.

* * *

Kisuke did not know how long it took him to get to Kurosaki Clinic nor how he really got there. It was as if his body had moved with no conscious thought on his part while his mind was numbingly blank. His eyes blinked when the clinic came into view but that was not what woke him from his trance... something had touched his cheek... a hand caressing his cheek... he looked around, confused that someone had managed to sneak up on him, but he found no one... his brows furrowed together in confusion... for a brief moment, he had thought he scented the sweet perfume of morning glories... the favored perfume of Masaki, Isshin's wife and Ichigo's mother... but that was not possible... Masaki was dead... devoured by a Hollow, never to be reincarnated.

Kisuke placed a hand against his face as he tried to clear his head.

"Kisuke?" Ryuken's cool voice snapped the blonde out of his daze.

The exiled Shinigami looked up, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the bright light spilling out of the clinic.

The Quincy was still and silent as he stared at the mischievous Shinigami; however, instead of seeing the jester, Ryuken only saw a defeated man. The silvery-grey haired man closed his eyes as he looked away. He did not need the blonde to say anything. The blonde's defeated look was all the answer the doctor needed. They would no receive any help from the Shinigami.

And while Ryuken had expected that would be the case, he too had hoped... a small hope that he would be wrong.

"Let him in..." Isshin's voice was hollow, startling the two friends as they had not realized the dark-haired Shinigami standing there.

Ryuken stepped aside while Kisuke slowly entered the clinic. They followed Isshin to the back of the clinic, where Ichigo's friends laid. Kisuke cast a helpless look at the teenagers, who did not show any signs of awakening nor did they seem to be in peril of dying either. They were just lying there, save for Uryuu, who was just sleeping.

The younger Quincy was still weak and thus remained at the clinic. At least that was what the prideful teen had stated. In reality, the two Shinigami and the older Quincy knew that Uryuu did not want to leave his friends' side.

The three of them continued pass the ward and into Isshin's office, where Isshin just stood in the middle of the office.

Ryuken stood to the side with his arms crossed while he looked anywhere and everywhere but at Isshin.

"I'm sorry..." Kisuke whispered, barely audible.

Isshin took a deep breath as he looked up then turned around and stared at his best friend.

"They will not help." The dark-haired Shinigami plainly stated.

The blonde just shook his head while looking away.

Ryuken then narrowed his eyes as he sensed the proverbial 'there's more' hanging in the air.

"What are you not telling us?" Ryuken demanded, causing Isshin to look at the Quincy oddly before leveling his own gaze on the blonde.

Kisuke did not look at them. He was staring at the photos of the Kurosaki children on Isshin's desk.

"They issued a 'kill-on-sight' order on Ichigo." The Shinigami's voice was dead.

The silence was thick and suffocating before a chocked word broke the heavy spell.

"_**What?!**_"

However, it was not Isshin, who let out the strangled word... it was Ryuken, who looked in confusion between the two Shinigami.

"Why?" The Quincy demanded, "To cover up what they're doing?!"

_That must be it!_ The silvery-grey haired man thought, _It makes sense to leave no witnesses or evidence of their crimes..._

"No..." Isshin's solemn voice broke Ryuken's thoughts as the Quincy just stared at the Shinigami, "that is not the reason why the order was given."

"Oh?!" A silver brow arched, "If not that then why?! Why would they give such an order?! Especially after everything he has done for them?!"

"It's because Ichigo is a Twin Soul." Isshin's voice was soft and his words barely above a whisper that Ryuken was not certain if he heard correctly.

"A Twin Soul..." The Quincy repeated when a sudden chill of dread overtook him. He stalked toward Masaki's husband, "Where did you hear that term?"

Isshin just looked at the silvery-grey haired Archer.

"Masaki... after Ichigo was born."

Ryuken felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He stared at the other man with wide eyes.

A Twin Soul was a Quincy Secret. A secret that the Quincies guarded to the point of their own extinction. While the Shinigami taught their students the reason for the extinction of the Quincies was because they posed a threat to universal balance was true, it was not the whole truth. It was because of the Twin Souls... humans with the powers of _both_ a Shinigami and a Hollow. No one knew how or why, but these unique humans were born to the Quincies. These Twin Souls were stronger than a Captain and a Vasto Lorde combined if properly trained. And as Ryuken mentally went over Quincy lore about Twin Souls, he suddenly remembered one key fact about Twin Souls...

"That's not possible..." Ryuken shook his head, "Masaki was mistaken... her son cannot be a Twin Soul. A Twin Soul had always been female, which is why they were referred to as Valkyries... even known as Tenshi here in Japan..."

Isshin nodded his head in agreement before letting out a quiet sigh while looking at the Quincy, who never knew the truth of his own cousin.

"Masaki was not mistaken..." He began slowly, "A Tenshi... a Twin Soul can always recognize another..."

"Execuse me...?!" Ryuken growled as he grabbed a handful of Isshin's shirt, pulling the Shinigami closer and making them touch nose-to-nose, "Are you telling me that Masaki... _my_ Masaki was a Twin Soul?!"

"Yes."

"And that Ichigo is also a Twin Soul?!"

"Yes."

**POW**

Ryuken poured everything he was feeling into his punch. He felt nothing but rage, confusion and betrayal at the truth he just discovered about his cousin and her child... and then he remembered... the twins...

"Karin... Yuzu... are they...?!" The Quincy demanded.

Isshin rubbed his jaw as he looked up and shook his head.

"No," The dark-haired Shinigami answered, "Karin and Yuzu aren't Twin Souls... Karin had Quincy leanings while Yuzu is just empathic."

"Okay..." The Quincy replied, still reeling in shock, "Okay... then what are we going to do about Ichigo? How are we going to find him and protect him from Soul Society?"

Finally having returned to the problem at hand, Ryuken looked at the Shinigami. Kisuke looked lost while Isshin looked thoughtful.

"I don't know... I have no idea what we can do..." The blonde said, and for the first time in a very long time since knowing the Shinigami, Ryuken could hear him sounding vulnerable, lost... human.

"There is one more option we can try..." Isshin slowly said.

This caused Kisuke and Ryuken to frown.

Other than the three of them storming into Soul Society and taking command of the Gotei 13, they could not fathom another option... unless... suddenly their eyes grew wide.

"Are you mad?!"

"You can't be serious?!"

The pair spoke over one another as they realized what the desperate father was suggesting.

"You want to go to him?!" Ryuken questioned, "He almost killed Ichigo! And what makes you think that he won't make this situation worse?! That he won't just use Ichigo for his own goals and gains?! I will not have you sacrifice Masaki's son to that madman!"

"He is _**MY**_ son!" Isshin roared back, "Do you think I like this?! Do you think I want to go to him for help?! I have no choice! I will not let my son stay in the hands of my father's mad dog! If I have to make a deal with the devil so be it! I will get my son back one way or another!"

Ryuken blinked as Isshin's words settled into his mind, knowing that once they have Ichigo back, he and Isshin were going to have a very long talk about family relations... especially if the Quincy understood the Shinigami's slip of the tongue.

Isshin easily ignored the Quincy while he looked at his other best friend, who looked worried at the father's decision.

"Are you sure?" Kisuke asked, ready to do whatever needed to save his godson.

"Yes..." The former Shinigami calmly answered, "Go to Aizen and ask him for help."

* * *

In a grand war room, thirteen warriors were gathered around a low table that contained a small replica model of the Seireitei, and all 13 were discussing the best means to attack. Well, it was more like seven of the 13 were arguing and shouting at how their idea was the better one while the other six warriors were quiet.

The leader of the group was ignoring his company as he stared blankly at the model. He had tried to come up with a battle plan himself, but each one of his plans resulted with more loss of life than he was comfortable with. He did not want to destroy the Seireitei nor did he want to rule it, despite what that old power hungry fool may think. No, what he truly wanted to do was find the Soul King and place him back on his rightful throne. He did not know how he knew or where the knowledge came from, but deep within him, he knew that the Soul King had returned.

Finally having enough of his subordinates shouting match, he was about call them to order when suddenly...

"Intruder! Intruder! Sire! Intruder!" Shrieked one of the Numeros attendants.

Instantly the war room fell silent as they tensed in surprise...

Why had the alarms not sound? Who would dare attack them?

"Mou, Sou-kun, you look as if you're not happy to see me! I'm hurt!" Teased a very familiar voice.

Suddenly Aizen Sousuke felt a migraine forming just behind his eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

_**~Chapter 15~**_

_**Kuchiki Estates, Seireitei**_

He tried to stay still, tried not to show that he was bothered by his Captain's instance stare. He knew that he had been on the receiving end of the nobleman's unrelenting scrutiny a number of times before, so why was it that now he felt like he should be three inches tall...?

"Renji." Byakuya calmly began, "What have you not told me about Kurosaki?"

The redhead tried to give his Captain a smile, but he could feel it come out as a grimace.

"Okay," The Aboriginal licked his lips, "Uhmm... Ichigo's father is a Shinigami, at least a Captain, and he's somehow related to the Quincies..."

The Kuchiki heir blinked. He had not expected that particular revelation of the Ryoka-boy. A sharp gasp from the corner drew the nobleman's eyes to Unohara, who had followed the 6th Captain back to his estates as did Hitsugaya and Zaraki.

"Are you certain, Abarai-san?" The 4th Captain questioned.

"That Ichigo's father is a Shinigami? Yeah, the Quincy's own father called him as such." Renji omitted the fact that said mysterious Shinigami nearly choked him to death... well, a second death.

Unohara shook her head.

"No, I meant Kurosaki-kun's possible relations to the Quincies." She clarified, "Are you certain of that?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kenpachi grouched.

"It may explain how Kurosaki-kun can be a hybrid." She replied.

"A what?" Renji looked to his Captain for an explanation.

"It has come to light that Kurosaki is a Hollow hybrid." The 6th Captain plainly stated as he watched his Lieutenant's eyes grow wide in shock.

_It would appear that not even Renji knew._ The nobleman thought.

"Renji, the question, please." Retsu's voice broke through the redhead's shock.

"Uhm..." The tattooed Shinigami blinked before finally answering, "Ichigo's father made a comment about Ichigo's hair coloring coming from the Quincy's family when asked about it."

Byakuya arched a brow. Curious as to why anyone would ask about the Ryoka-boy's hair.

"And who would wanna about that?" The 11th Captain asked.

"Uhm... Uryuu."

"Why?" Hitsugaya asked, curious as to why the young Quincy would ask such a question, esepcially at a time like this.

"To be honest, Ichigo looks nothing like his father. Sure, there are little quirks that say 'yeah, they're father and son' but in looks... nothing so, Isshin -"

"Wait!" Unohara startled the Lieutenant, who jumped a bit in his seat, "Did you say Isshin?"

"Eh... yes..." The redhead trailed off as he nervously looked at his Captain, who too surprised by the 4th Captain's sudden outburst.

"Oh sweet kami..." The 4th Captain whispered.

Immediately the other Captains realized that there was more to Kurosaki Ichigo than they had believed, judging by the usually collected woman's reaction.

"Retsu..." The petite 10th Captain gently called, pulling his colleague from whatever trance she was in, "What is it? What do you know?"

The Captain of the 4th Squadron took a deep breath as she collected herself once more.

"If Kurosaki-kun is truly related to the Quincies then there is a possibility that he may be a Twin Soul. And if his father is the same Isshin that I know then that possibility has just become the truth."

"A Twin Soul?"

"You know Kurosaki's father?!"

"What the hell is a Twin Soul?"

"What's all this have to do with Kurosaki being a hybrid?"

The questions came at once, causing Unohara to raise a hand for silence.

"A Twin Soul is a human, who has the powers of both a Soul Reaper and a Hollow." Unohara explained, "These human are generally born to Quincies and are generally female, but once in a while a male Twin Soul is born. According to the Archives, there hasn't been a male Twin Soul in over a thousand years."

Byakuya narrowed his eyes as he thought at how the last male Twin Soul suspiciously coincided with when the Soul King was last heard from. He, however, kept his suspicions to himself.

"If Kurosaki-kun is a Twin Soul then it would explain how he can possess the powers of a Hollow." The 4th Captain quietly explained.

"Okay, I can understand that." Kenpachi grunted, "But how do you know the brat's ol' man?"

"If he is the Isshin I know..." Unohara trailed off as she looked at the youngest Captain of the Gotei 13, "then he is Shiba Isshin, former Captain of the 10th Squadron."

The silence was thick as all eyes fell on the current Captain of the 10th Squad. With the exception of the young Captain and the 6th Squad's Lieutenant, the three Captains knew of Shiba Isshin, either by reputation or personally.

It was a little over two decades ago when the former 10th Captain had disappeared. Rumors had it that he been transferred to the Royal Guard, or commonly known as Zero Squad amongst the other Squadrons of the Gotei 13. It was also commonly known that once a Captain transferred to Zero Squad, all ties to their former duties and lives were effectively cut off... almost as if the transferred Captain had died.

"Hitsugaya-touchiou," Unohara began, "there should be a picture of Shiba Isshin in Squad 10's barracks. If you could retrieve it for Abarai-san to look at and confirm that the Isshin he met is the same Isshin."

The white-haired Captain nodded and was about to leave when...

"Don't bother." A female voice interrupted, causing everyone to tense while Byakuya refrained from twitching his eyebrow in annoyance.

"Yoruichi." The nobleman coolly greeted his childhood friend.

The dark-skinned assassin just grinned as she threw an over-flirtatious wink that the nobleman recognized as being more forced rather than natural.

"Ichigo's father is Shiba Isshin." The former Captain of 2nd Squad confirmed Retsu's suspicion.

Suddenly Zaraki let loose a wolfish whistle.

"That explains a whole damn lot of things." The berserker commented as he remembered the Ryoka's strength the last time they fought. The 11th Captain had heard of the former 10th Captain's strength and battle prowess. Kenpachi had always wanted to fight Isshin but never had the chance. The berserker let a manic grin morph on his face.

"And Ichigo being a Twin Soul?" Unohara questioned the other female.

Yoruichi remained quiet, but it was all the confirmation that the 4th Captain needed.

"It would seem that there is more at hand than we were made aware of." The Kuchiki heir stated.

"Which isn't a whole lot to begin with." Toshiro interjected.

"Hmm..." Byakuya then looked at the Shishoin heiress, "Urahara received my message."

It was not a question.

"Yes." Yoruichi answered, "I want to go back to the Hall of Records. I'm hoping to find more on this Johannes Boehner's Lab, maybe even it's located so we can send a rescue team."

"Oh?" Zaraki grunted, "You and what army?"

Gold eyes just stared at the berserker then ignored him as she returned her attention to her friend.

"Do I have your permission?"

Byakuya just nodded, and then the Flash Master disappeared.

"Why that -" Kenpachi growled.

"Zaraki." The dark-haired nobleman cut him off, "My Lieutenant already indicated who would most likely assist in the rescue of Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Oh yeah?" The 11th Captain challenged.

"Shishoin Yoruichi, Urahara Kisuke, Shiba Isshin and the Quincy's father..."

"Ishida Ryuken..." Renji quietly answered.

Kenpachi became quiet while Toshiro let out a quiet groan... if they had thought an untrained Kurosaki had caused chaos when he and his friends came to Soul Society to save Rukia, they could only even imagine the type of hell that the aforementioned and highly trained adults would unleash.

"Unohara," Byakuya rose to his feet, "you have a member in your Squad, who is familiar with Kurosaki?"

"Yes."

"Have him ready. I have no doubt that Kurosaki will be in need of a healer, and I want a familiar face to be that healer."

"Of course." She replied and swiftly left to prepare her favorite subordinate for his next mission.

"Hitsugaya."

"I'll see what our archives have on the former Captain before his disappeared." The petite Captain commented, "Maybe there is an explanation as to why he disappeared."

The 6th Captain just nodded as the young Shinigami too left.

Zaraki just stood there. His brow arched.

"What no orders for me?" He said with a challenging grin.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes for a moment then signaled his Lieutenant to follow him.

"Be ready."

* * *

Renji winced as he looked between his Captain and the outrageous house of Shiba Kukaku, the current head of the Noble House of Shiba. Kukaku's house was a simple building, but the redhead knew that the rest of eccentric woman's estate was underground. Aside from the simple building, there was two pillars holding up a banner proudly stating who owned the property, which was not what made the Lieutenant wince. Nope, it was not the banner but rather it was the pillars themselves.

They were a pair of fists flipping the bird in the direction of the Seireitei. As Renji looked around again, the redhead narrowed his eyes when he saw that Shiba's pillars were in direct line-of-sight of another estate. It took the Lieutenant a moment before he recognized the insignia of the 1st Squad... Captain Yamamoto's Squad. Renji's eyes bulged in shock before rubbing a hand over his face to muffle a groan. The Aboriginal had to give the fireworks specialist credit to have some balls in placing her house in front of the Captain-General's Squad and flipping them the bird to boot.

"Halt!" A voice ordered.

"Who goes there?!" A second voice demanded.

The tattooed Shinigami turned around and saw Shiba's two house guards, Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko. The muscled twins stood before the Captain of the 6th Squad, arms crossed and attempted to look menacing.

Byakuya just arched a brow.

"I seek audience with Lady Shiba." The Kuchiki heir stated, causing the guards to frown.

While it was accepted knowledge that their mistress was the Head of the Shiba Clan, no other noble had ever referred to Kukaku as 'Lady Shiba'. No one knew why the Shiba Clan had fallen out of favor when Kaien died neither was there ever an explanation given when asked. Kukaku had been too young to take the mantle of the Clan Head, which was left another member of the Clan as the Head of the family... but he too disappeared, forcing Kukaku to take command of the floundering clan. Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko glanced at one another nervously, and Renji immediately recognized a silent conversation happening between the two brothers.

After a few more moments, the twins nodded their heads.

"Right," Koganehiko began.

"This way," Shiroganehiko continued.

"Lord Kuchiki." They finished in unison.

Renji shivered at the eeriness of the twins' speaking patterns.

Captain and Lieutenant of the 6th Squad quietly followed the burly house guards through the simple building and down the catacombs of Kukaku's estates. It was not long before they arrived in the audience hall, where Kukaku and her brother, Ganju, were waiting for them.

Renji breathed in sharply as he stared at the Head of the Shiba. He finally saw it. He finally saw the resemblance between Ichigo and the remaining Shiba. If Ichigo had dark hair and blue eyes, the teen could have easily pass for either Kaien or Kukaku's twin.

"What are you staring at, Pineapple-Head?!" Ganju roared, causing the redhead to twitch.

"My Lieutenant was merely realizing the true gravitiy of the situation." Byakuya answered but his eyes never wavered from Kukaku, who was lounging against a number of thick and plush pillows while casually smoking her pipe.

"And what's that supposed to mean, you houttie-touttie Shinigami?!" The younger Shiba growled.

Ganju might have forgiven the Captain's sister for the death of his brother; however, it did not mean that he had any love for the Shinigami as a whole. There was only one Shinigami he liked, and the teen was not even a full-fledged Soul Reaper.

"I have come here to discuss with you about your kinsmen, Lady Shiba." The Kuchiki simply stated.

Instantly Kukaku's dismissive demeanor changed as she sat up.

"Leave." She ordered.

Ganju grinned at the Shinigami.

"I meant you, Ganju." She clarified, causing her brother to mimic a floundering fish, "Leave. NOW!"

The younger Shiba cowered as he nodded and did as his sister ordered. He did not want to leave her alone with the Shinigami, but he also knew that she was quite capable of defending herself. However, that knowledge did nothing to alleviate the small kernel of fear within him. After all, his family never had any luck when dealing with the Soul Reapers...

Kukaku turned her attention to the Kuchiki Head of Clan with an expression that Renji was very familiar with. An expression the redhead had seen on Ichigo and his father, Isshin.

"What has happened to my uncle and cousin?" She went to the heart of the matter.


	17. Chapter 17

_**~Chapter 16~**_

_**Las Noches, Hueco Mundo**_

"What are you doing here, Shinigami?!" One of the white creatures snarled at Kisuke.

The blonde just teasingly smiled at the hostile tone. However, Aizen could see a strain in his one-time friend's smile, which made the brunette frown a bit. The former 5th Captain had seen the former 12th Captain smile and brush off the worst of threats and taunts without so much a blink or thought but now... Sosuke noted how his former Lieutenant tilted his head to the side. _It would seem that even Gin can see through Kisuke's mask._ Aizen thought in concern.

"Mou, you've been busy, Sou-kun..." Urahara commented as he looked at the various humanoid Hollows, "You should be careful and not over use the Hogyoku... it could weaken future results..."

"Aizen-sama doesn't need advice from you, Soul Reaper!" Shrieked a pink-haired Hollow.

Sosuke hid a grin, knowing that Szayel took his position as Aizen's Chief Scientist very seriously. Of course, it probably also did not help that the flamboyant Hollow had also gave the brunette the same advice just earlier that morning, especially after evaluating Wonderweiss Margela, Aizen's latest creation.

Kisuke tilted his head to the side as he tried to figure out pinkette's role in the brunette's court.

"You did not answer the question..." Kaname Tosen cut through the tension.

Kisuke glanced over to the blind, dark-skinned former Ninth Captain. The quiet and unassuming Soul Reaper was always a curiosity to the former 12th Captain. The blonde knew of Kaname's dear friend and of her death, but he was surprised that the blind man would enter into the Gotei 13, knowing that they had a hand in her death - it may not have been a direct involvement, but they were guilty of complicity. It was not in any official reports; however, many believed that the death of Kaname's friend was not an accident as stated in official reports, but rather a cover-up to protect her husband, a member of one of the lower Noble Houses, from murder charges.

"Kisuke..." Aizen's voice cut through the exiled Shinigami's thoughts as the one-time friend leveled his attention on the brunette.

Sosuke frowned as he noticed the heavy shadows beneath the other's eyes. It made him idly wonder when it was the last time the blonde had truly slept. The former 5th Captain walked away from the war table and ascended upon his throne. Mentally he cringed at the thought of a throne. His Hollows, his Arrancars, had made it known that if he was to lead them then he must be seen as king to the other Hollows. Once he was seated, his two companions and his Arrancars immediately fell into their own places.

Five of the Espada, the single digit Arrancar, under Kaname's direct command positioned themselves to Aizen's left, and the other five under Ichimaru Gin's direct command positioned themselves to the brunette's right.

Gin, the silvery-haired albino, stood to Sosuke's right and directly behind Aizen's throne. To the Hollows, this position indicated that the sly Soul Reaper was Aizen's second-in-command and that the grinning former Third Captain's word was only second to the brunette.

Kaname stood to Aizen's left and a bit further behind, indicating his third rank in Hollow hierarchy.

And as everyone moved into position, Kisuke ignored them all as his eyes never wavered from his former friend.

"Well, Kisuke, what have you come here for?" The brunette asked once everyone had settled.

The blonde took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment before he spoke.

"I need your help, Aizen Sosuke."

The admission startled the three former Captains while the Espada were curious. Why would this Soul Reaper seek help of their leader, who had been branded as a traitor by his own kind? Could it be a trap?

"And why would you need our help?" Kaname demanded when it became obvious that neither Aizen nor Gin were going to ask, "You can easily go to Soul Society for help."

The blonde stayed quiet as he looked only at Aizen.

"Unless ya already had an' 'ey said no." Gin stated nonchalantly.

Kaname then sneered.

"Come to us only because you have no other choice? Disgraceful!"

"Enough." Aizen spoke, effectively silencing the blind man. A small part of him was hurt that the blonde had only sought his help after the Gotei 13 had turned him down, but then again he truly understood why Kisuke had done so. They had not spoken to one another in over a hundred years, and the blonde had believed the lies that Yamamoto had spouted... that Sosuke had betrayed Kisuke. The brunette sighed. Now was not the time to bring up past wrongs... now was the time to find out why Kisuke was really in Las Noches.

"Why are you really here, Kisuke? It must be for more than just my help."

Kisuke gave the brunette a weak smile.

"Isshin sent me."

With those three simple words, the three former Captains stilled. Kaname felt a wave of nervousness invade him as he wondered what Aizen would do to the blonde for bringing up the brunette's friend in such a cruel manner. Gin casually shot a glance at his former Captain. He too wondered how Sosuke would react to the cruel joke. The Arrancar could feel the tension thicken and the nervousness from the two former Soul Reapers. They wondered who this Isshin was to cause such a reaction. Whoever this Isshin was, he must have been very dear to their leader.

Slowly Sosuke's calm demeanor morphed into pure anger and his reiatsu flamed in response to his anger at the casual mention of his dear dead friend.

"You bastard!" He growled, "How dare you use him?!"

Kisuke blinked in startled confusion at the Master of Las Noches' sudden outburst.

"How dare you use my memories of him?!" Aizen continued, "To do what?! To play me in whatever sick and twisted game of yours?!"

The brunette rose and began to stalk his former friend.

The blonde frowned, clearly confused by the brunette's statements.

"What are you talking about?" The exiled Shinigami asked, "I am really here because Isshin sent me."

"LIAR!" Aizen roared, startling everyone at the sudden and very violent display of emotions, "He's dead! Has been for the last 20 years!"

Twin brows disappeared into the shadows of his silly white and green hat.

"I assure you, Sosuke-kun, Isshin is not dead."

"Yamamoto himself had said otherwise when he announced Isshin's transfer to Zero Squad!"

Kisuke shook his head. This was getting them nowhere. The blonde did not know why Aizen was convinced that Isshin was dead, especially if Yamamoto used the ruse of the transfer to Zero Squad to explain for Isshin's disappearance, and the former 12th Captain knew that the brunette would not be convinced otherwise unless he was told Sosuke why Isshin had disappeared all those years ago.

"Trust me, Sosuke-kun," He softly spoke, "Isshin is alive... very much so... and he did sent me... twenty years ago, while on assignment in the Human World, he meet a beautiful girl and fell in love..."

It was Azien's turn to blink in confusion as his anger slowly calmed; causing Kisuke to softly small at his friend's disbelieving expression.

"They married and had three beautiful children... one of whom is missing... he's the reason why we need your help."

"Married?" Sosuke repeated in utter disbelief.

The brunette remembered his brother-in-arms very well. Aizen firmly believed that Isshin would be the last one of the three of them to marry. Whoever married the spastic Shinigami had to be some sort of saint!

"Yes, he was married... he's a widower now, but he still loves her." Kisuke spoke fondly.

"Must been have a saint..." Aizen absently murmured, causing the blonde to laugh.

"Kurosaki Masaki was... she truly was, to be able to put up with the both of us..." He fondly said.

"Wait?!" Sosuke grabbed his friend's arm, "Did you say 'Kurosaki' as in _Kurosaki _Ichigo?!"

The room fell silent as everyone froze. None in the room was unfamiliar of the Substitute Soul Reaper's name. In fact, they all had lengthy debates, or shouting matches, to determine what to do with the human boy. The teen was a wild card, an unknown... that could either help or hurt their cause. A few of the Arrancar wanted do away with the Shinigami before he became a threat. Others wanted to recruit the youth. Aizen himself just wanted to ignore the Ryoka, but as Gin had pointed out, if they attacked the teen's friends then the Substitute Soul Reaper would join the fight. The silvery-haired former Captain continued to point that Kurosaki Ichigo did not care for politics or other such petty matters. The boy only cared about his friends, family and doing the right thing.

_"He's a scary kid..."_ Gin had once described the human.

Kisuke did not answer Sosuke's question right away, but the silence spoke volumes.

"Kurosaki is Isshin's son?!" Aizen demanded for clarification.

"Yes." The blonde finally answered, ignoring the low murmuring erupting amongst Aizen's Espada.

"Why..." Kaname's voice broke through the shocked tension between the long-lost friends, "Why did Soul Society not help you? The son of Shiba Isshin would be a valuable ally for the Gotei 13 to have... why come to us, the enemy?"

Kisuke glanced over to the blind warrior before looking back at Aizen, who was still trying to come to grips that his brother-in-all-but-blood had a family and that he had nearly killed his dear friend's son. The blonde worried at how much information he would have to give in order to get the brunette to help. Sosuke's eyes narrowed when he noticed the other's hesitation.

"Leave. All of you." The former Captain ordered, startling everyone.

The Arrancar obeyed while the two Shinigami did so with reluctance. The audience hall emptied quickly, leaving the two best friends alone.

"It's just you and me now, Kis'k..." Sosuke whispered, using an old childhood nickname.

Hearing the old nickname, Kisuke found himself relaxing and leaning into the brunette's frame for support. Aizen instinctively wrapped his arms around his friend and was surprised to find the mischievous man trembling.

"What is it, Kis'k? What's going on?" He whispered as he ran his hand up and down the blonde's back, calming the distraught Soul Reaper down.

"They issued a kill-on-sight..." The blonde murmured, "They're going to kill him!"

"What?! Who? Why?"

"Ichigo... he's a Twin Soul!" Kisuke said as he looked up and stared into Aizen's shocked eyes.

The brunette knew and understood what it meant to be a Twin Soul... the brunette knew that Kurosaki undergone the Hollowification. Sosuke even remembered taunting the boy about it in their first and last encounter. However, he had assumed that the human had survived the process because of his abundant reiatsu. Even being the offspring of a Shinigami would have ensured the teen's survival of the Hollowification process, but... if what Kisuke said was true... the youth was a Twin Soul, a natural born hybrid of Soul Reaper and Hollow powers... _Just like..._ Aizen's eyes widened even more in realization, _no wonder Yamamoto issued the child's death warrant..._

Kurosaki Ichigo was a threat to the First Captain's power over all of Soul Society...

"I'll do it..." Aizen whispered.

The blonde stared at the brunette suspiciously but found no sign of deceit or duplicity, just honest sincerity.

"I'll help find Ichigo." Sosuke continued, "And... if Isshin needs a place to hide for his other two children, he and they are welcomed to come here..."

* * *

"This better not be a fuckin' trap, Blondie!" A blue-haired Arrancar snarled at Kisuke as he and the silent green-eyed Fourth followed the exiled Shinigami down the street to Kurosaki Clinic.

Kisuke rolled his eyes at the gruff Arrancar's threat. It was, after all, the umpteenth time the blue-haired male had threatened the blonde.

"Sou-kun should have let me warned them that you were coming..." The exiled Shinigami mumbled under his breath.

The quiet Espada just blandly looked at Kisuke, who hid a sudden grin behind his fan when the stoic Fourth's companion snapped around and growled.

"What was that?!"

"Maa, maa, Grimmie-kun, nothing to worry yourself with." Kisuke replied with impish flare.

"The name's Grimmjow! Not Grimmie-kun!" The blue-haired Espada shouted, restraining the urge to strangle the blonde.

"But that wasn't what Gin-kun said." Kisuke innocently pouted.

Grimmjow let out a frustrated yell but did not attack. It went against his sense of honor to attack an ally, no matter how annoying the damned ally was. The Sixth Espada sharply turned around and marched towards a simple building with a sign stated 'Kurosaki Clinic'.

The green-eyed Espada stared at the smiling Shinigami.

"Do you feel better?" The Fourth's voice was low and soft, startling the blonde.

"So you do speak." Kisuke replied absently then gave the Espada a thin smile, "I won't feel better until we get Ichigo back, but I am getting there."

The pale creature tilted his head to the side.

"I do not understand."

"Hmm..."

"The likelihood of Kurosaki Ichigo is still alive is low as well as the likelihood of him being as he was..."

"My son is still alive." A deep voice drifted over, causing the Espada and Kisuke to turn around.

Not far from them was a brunette carrying two bags of what appeared to be take-away food.

"Ryuken kicked you out?" Kisuke teased as he helped his friend with his load.

"Yuzu made dinner for us." Isshin explained.

"That's a lot of food for just the four of us." The blonde mumbled, looking inside the bags, which the brunette gave his friend an enigmatic smile.

"She always had a way of knowing things."

Kisuke arched his brow in surprise but quickly remembered what Isshin had said about his girls' abilities.

"My son is still alive." Isshin stated again then stared at the quiet Espada, "He is also strong. Whatever they are doing to him is only going to make him stronger."

"How do you know this?" The Fourth questioned.

"Simple." Isshin smiled, "I know my son. I have faith in him, and I have hope."

"Curious."

"You'll learn." The brunette stated, "Come. We better make sure Ryuken doesn't decide to shoot first and ask questions later."

"Ha!" Kisuke laughed, "Ryuken doesn't ask questions. He just shoots first."

Isshin and Kisuke chuckled then sobered when they realized the other Arrancar, Grimmjow, had gone ahead without them. Immediately they sprinted to the clinic while the Fourth just calmly walked after them, finding these creatures to be curiously interesting.

A few seconds later they arrived at the clinic to find the blue-haired Espada, waiting for them, arms crossed and foot tapping in annoyance.

"Dude! What took you so long?! I was waiting like forever for you!"


	18. Chapter 18

_**~Chapter 17~**_

_**Johannes Boehner's Laboratory**_

They had separated them.

They had beaten and tortured them with the sight of the other but never letting them near.

They had finally found a way to bring them to heel.

They held the life of the other over their heads.

With dark eyes and low growls, Their weapons obeyed every command given to them... commands to maim and kill... and kill they did.

They destroyed their prey quickly, efficiently, and yet they also killed with mercy. The weapons did not let their prey linger in pain despite what their tormentors desired.

Soon the weapons would be ready to be presented before the Patron, and the Master would greatly award his people... or so they had thought, unaware of the slow poison eating at them from the inside out, slowly killing them and leaving no witnesses to the horrors of Johannes Boehner's Laboratory...

* * *

"Master..." Miitchu greeted as he gave his Master a low bow, "The Cleaning Staff have reported that all is proceeding as scheduled."

"Not all..." Master Boehner growled as he slammed the latest report of his weapons' progress.

"Sir?"

"Their Soul Swords! They _**still**_ haven't called their swords forth!" The Master snarled at his favorite minion.

Miitchu shifted with unease at his Master's rage.

"Perhaps they have none..." He trailed off when he felt the full weight of his Master's anger.

"They _**have**_ one!" Master Boehner hissed, "We cannot properly control them without their Soul Swords! Get it! I don't care how you do it! I want their _**Swords!**_"

Miitchu immediately fled his Master's sight, ignoring the howls and shrieks of his own minions, who were left behind to meet their violent end at the Master's hand. A hot anger began to fill Miitchu's veins as he thought of their weapons, Experiment 4215 and 4215-A. It had finally become apparent to him that although they had complied with each training and order, they were still being defiant by keeping their Soul Swords hidden. Well no more, Miitchu was going to force them to reveal their damned Soul Swords, or he was going to destroyed them outright.

* * *

Miitchu growled as he gone over the Experiments' report again and again. They had tortured each of the Experiments separately and again in front of each other. No matter what they had done to the Experiments, neither of them had revealed their Soul Sword, and Miitchu's Master was getting increasingly impatient with him as more and more of the Cleaning Staff proceeded on schedule. With another snarl, the scientist pulled out Experiment 4215's original profile report.

It was the initial report that had caught his Master's attention of the Experiment's potential. Most of the information in the report, Miitchu had ignored. He was more interested in the Experiment's prowess than the Experiment's behavioral profile. After all, in the scientist's opinion, behavior can be modified through training. Frustrated Miitchu threw the initial report away, causing the paper to float and fleet around him.

The scientist stalked toward his cabinet and pulled out a bottle of deep mahogany-colored liquid. He quietly poured himself a tumbler of the rich liquid and began sipping at the fiery drink. Turning back at the mess, he created. His eye caught a glimpse of color amongst the white sheets of paper. With a frown and placing his drink down, Miitchu knelt down at the source of the color. It was a picture... a picture of Experiment 4215 and... two young girls.

Slowly a foul and twisted smile graced the scientist's face as he shot to his feet, bellowing for his minions.

* * *

Karin stared at her twin as she quietly shuffled about the kitchen. While Yuzu was normally quiet and unassuming, Karin cannot help but shiver at the unnatural quiet that surrounded her younger twin. It was as if the youngest Kurosaki was in a constant state of daze. Then again Karin knew that she was not even any better... not since learning that their brother had been kidnapped.

The Old Goat had sent them to their godfather's for protection, and who knew that they even had a godfather. But the surprises kept coming... the Old Goat and Ryuken might not have said anything, but Karin could see bits of her mother in her mysterious godfather. Which made her wonder if her mother and her godfather were related, Karin made a note to ask later and only when her brother was rescued. The young girl had no doubt that her brother would be rescued. It was just a matter of when...

Charcoal brown eyes randomly glanced at the wall calendar and stilled in absolute horror. Had it really been almost three weeks since her brother's kidnapping? It felt more like an eternity since the twins had received the awful news. Karin lowered her head, using her thick black locks to hide her teary eyes. The last time she had cried was when she met the Boy-in-the-Parakeet, and after that incident, she had promised herself to be even stronger. While her brother may not have said anything of the incident, Karin knew that her brother was truly worried about her.

She had promised herself not to cause undue stress on Ichigo, especially since he found himself with a new power. Suddenly at the thought of her brother's new power, her face morphed into a nasty scowl. If she ever found out that the reason to her brother's kidnapping was due to his new power, she prayed to whatever God that would listen the bastard responsible would pay in the most painful way possible.

A quiet squeak caught the young Kurosaki's attention. She looked up in concern that her dark expression might have startled her sensitive twin, but immediately frowned when Karin did not see her twin. Looking around, the young girl spotted Yuzu's toy lion on the couch... looking at her?! Dark eyes narrowed on the toy. There was something odd about the little plushie. The dark-haired girl could not place her finger on it. It was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, but it was not an ominous feeling. It just bothered her that she did not know what was causing her to feel this way.

With another glare at the stuffed toy, Karin stood up and walked over to it. Was it her imagination, or did the little toy flinch? She knelt down so she was eye-to-eye with the lion plushie. A small part of her felt silly doing this, but she knew that she would feel better once done.

"I don't know what you are," Karin told the toy, "but I know that you're not a threat or else Ichigo would have killed you by now."

Nope, it was not her imagination. The toy flinched and looked to be sweating. Can toys even sweat?

"Something happened to my brother." She continued, "If you know anything about it, so help me... _I_ will destroy you... if you're involved..."

The toy remained unresponsive but did look terrified. _Good_, Karin thought.

"Until Ichigo comes homes, you protect Yuzu... no matter what... understood? 'cause if anything happened to her, I will make you pay."

"Karin!" Yuzu's voice traveled from the kitchen, "Dinner!"

"Coming!" Karin replied then turned back to the toy, "You better protect her or else."

Karin quickly joined her sister at the grand dining room of their godfather's home. The girls quietly sat down. As Karin began to eat, her dark eyes watched Yuzu, who was looking at a series of empty plates. The older twin stopped for a moment to stare at the plates as well. The dark-haired girl could not remember how her younger twin had come up with this little tradition of hers, but it first began with a single empty plate for Mom when the girls truly understood why she was no longer there. And now, Yuzu had placed a plate for Ichigo followed by one for their Old Goat, their godfather and their other uncle, who happened to be Ichigo's godfather. When Karin asked her about it, afraid that Yuzu might have sensed something, the younger twin looked directly into her sister's eyes and said that the plates would stay until Dad and their uncles brought Ichigo home. The dark-haired girl did not say anything more on it.

"Do you think..." Yuzu's voice was quiet, making Karin to strain to hear, "Do you think he's eating?"

Karin knew who Yuzu was asking about. She looked down at her food and truly wondered as well if Ichigo was being fed. And while it worried her that he might not be, Karin knew that she would need her strength to be of any use to her family when her brother came home.

"Yeah... he's eating..." The oldest twin lied then winced when Yuzu gave her a sorrowful smile as if she knew that Karin was lying.

The air between them settled into a solemn silence when suddenly it was broken...

Karin stilled when she felt a cold, sickening sensation grip her.

Yuzu let out a sharp cry as she looked around for something.

"RUN!" A high pitched voice shouted as the toy lion ran into the dining room.

For a brief moment, the twins looked in disbelied at the _live_ toy.

"Bastion?" Yuzu whispered in confusion.

"RUN!" The plushie continued to yell when suddenly the building violently shook, followed by a defeaning explosion.

The girls' screams were muffled by the explosion.

* * *

"Well...?" Miitchu sneered as he tapped his foot impatiently.

He glared at the group of servants and experiments. His eyes narrowed when he noticed that less than half of what he had original sent had returned.

"Did you get what I demanded?" He demanded, not giving his missing servants and experiments another thought.

"Yes, milord..."

"Good! We can proceed!" He smirked as he stalked back to his labs.

_**To my readers, I want to thank you for your patience. I was able to hammer away and have this up for you guys. Hopefully, you'll continue to stay tune for the next installments of Bleach: A Breed Apart coming next December 2014.**_


End file.
